Crime Pays In Unexpected Ways
by amaranteotaku
Summary: Sasuke cannot escape now. Yeah, he's been brought back to Konoha. Reluctantly might I add. But being held captive under a strange new program and meeting peculiar S-ranked criminals wasn't what he was expecting. Especially that annoying girl...
1. One: A Sore Beginning

**A/N: Hello readers! This is my first fanfic, so please be nice to me when it comes to reviews!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or anything to do with the series. xD**

**And seriously, if you can make the effort to read it's not hard to review, right...?**

**Enjoy!**

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Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. He was in Tsunade's recently constructed office, which was slightly smaller than the old one and was yet to be adorned with decorations, such as plants and furniture.

Yes, he had returned to the leaf village, which was currently under construction due to an attack from someone Naruto called 'Pain'. He had to admit, this Pain and his assistant did a good job.

Tsunade had been persuaded by many people to let Sasuke come back, after hearing about the many things he did for everyone in the war after fighting Naruto. The kid seemed to have finally knocked some sense into him, which was supposedly assisted by chakra Itachi had fused into him much earlier.

The elder of the brothers had appeared in the middle of their battle right before they both went for kill shots, apparently slapping some sense into Sasuke and changing his ways. That was the shortened version Naruto had given her, saying it was too long a story to go into details with.

She wasn't convinced, however; the entire thing seemed like a trick. Had the boy used a genjutsu to trick them all into thinking that? Why would he listen to his brother, the one that had killed his clan? It didn't add up.

After discussing these matters with the blond ninja, he cleared up some 'unimportant' minor details about Madara appearing and telling them much about Itachi's true story, etcetera.

Many others complimented on how much loyalty Sasuke had shown towards Konoha after his brotherly encounter, saving Sakura from being captured by Akatuski and the three of them teaming up to kill Madara themselves.

It reminded Tsunade of the good old days, when her squad was together. They had all grown to be pretty similar, she thought.

Sakura and Naruto weren't going to give up without a fight, that much was obvious. Why wouldn't they? The two of them had dedicated three years to finding and bringing back the teenager, which had proven a difficult task. Yet even when things seemed hopeless, they persevered, not once losing sight of the hope they shared. So it became impossible for her to say no.

Before she came to that decision, however, she consulted Kakashi. They both came to a reasonable solution.

-the solution-

"So what you are saying is you are going to send me to _school_?"

"A detention centre, actually." Kakashi interjected. The entire situation was overwhelming for him. He suffered so much when Sasuke left, blaming everything on himself. He was supposed to be the boy's sensei and lead him in the right direction. It seemed The Copycat Ninja had failed for once.

To find out he was back on Naruto's accord, or so it was said, made him feel ecstatic. He had finally trained a decent ninja, Sakura included.

Sasuke glared at his former teacher. "_Detention centre_, do you even have one?"

Tsunade smiled proudly. "It was suggested a while ago in one of our Jounin meetings, but we didn't have enough space to build such a thing back then. Times are changing, you see. People don't believe its right to kill other people anymore. Less and less children are being allowed to enrol in the academy due to their parents' concerns, and we need shinobi now more than ever. Kurenai had been speaking with a villager and they came onto the subject, when the woman thought of the idea. That way, we are forcing less innocent kids to kill mercilessly, which is considered 'unhealthy' now, and bring all enemy ninja to our little jail; some people excluded who have committed larger crimes. We figured it may not be a good thing to keep the younger criminals and the older criminals, who would be more powerful, in the same area. So the Konoha Detention Centre was born."

Sasuke blinked. "That's a nice story, but aren't my crimes considered severe?"

The Hokage dropped her grin to a frown, shooting daggers at his old squad members.

"I have been persuaded otherwise, if we were to eliminate you we would apparently lose two valuable ninja, also."

The Uchiha's eyes widened as he turned to face the two grinning in the corner of the room. They hadn't taken their eyes off of Sasuke the entire time.

_They would do that for me? After everything I've done to them?_

It didn't make sense to him, but Sasuke wasn't about to argue with his life.

"So... what is this detention centre?"

-this is-

Three ANBU ROOT members, whom were now under new management due to an unexpected mishap, escorted Sasuke through what would be his home until he worked off hid crime. He was followed by his old squad too of course, who were accompanied by a very pale boy who looked vaguely familiar.

There were already about fifty criminals inhabiting the compound. Some of them had only committed minor crimes like theft, where as others were guilty of far worse. The really dangerous ninja were kept in separate rooms away from each other so as not to start a rampage. Both of Sasuke's arms were kept behind his back by some sort of binding jutsu so he couldn't escape, not that he would.

He had returned to the village by choice, whether anyone believed him or not. Not many people were thrilled by the Hokage's decision to let him live. In fact, there were only about three or four who were. Sasuke himself was pretty glad to be back. He wanted to keep his older brothers' legacy alive by showing absolute loyalty to Konoha. It was a huge turn around and it was going to be tough, since he still really hated pretty much every person living within the Hidden Leaf walls. Regardless of the amount of hatred he beared, he knew he had to keep this promise to himself. For Itachi, of course, nobody but him.

They travelled through several tunnels and rooms, all of them heavily guarded and fitted with security systems. Sasuke knew he could break through every one of them.

The detention centre was surprisingly large and Naruto found himself lost in a maze several times. He would either be distracted by something, or start preaching to somebody in a cell in the hopes of changing their livelihood the way he had changed his friend's.

That was one of the things that bothered Sasuke; Naruto now thought he had some sort of hidden power that enabled him to put anybody on the right track. He had nicknamed himself "The Guidance Counsellor", and even attempted to help a cat that had been fighting with another of its kind. It was clear not much had changed when it came to him.

Sakura was another story. She had displayed unbelievable strength and endurance during their intense battle between Madara, and only returned with two broken fingers due to the amount of punches she had pummelled the Uchiha with. She was actually the one who delivered the final blow, killing him once and for all.

Naruto had displayed amazing abilities, too, proving that he really hadn't wasted three years slacking off and talking about how he would bring his friend back. There was a particular jutsu that had aroused his curiosity; the Rasen-Wind Shuriken? The blond had managed to hit Madara with it in between one of his jutsu, stopping the flow of chakra in half of his body. The aftermath of his technique was a demolished forest. It was very impressive, not to mention intimidating.

Sasuke knew he could beat Naruto in an instant. It was mainly because of his own awesome power, but the fact that Naruto considered them brothers helped, too.

Did brothers really care about each other that much? His own brother, Itachi, had given up his entire life just for his little brothers' sake. Naruto felt as if they were brothers, and he spent three years dedicated to him. The younger Uchiha couldn't wrap his head around the whole 'family love' thing. It was probably because he never really got the chance to experience it himself.

The raven haired boy had been so caught up in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed when they arrived at his new room. It wasn't exactly appealing.

It was small, about the size of the average kitchen, and had a single bed to the side. There was a toilet that was fully exposed and not a single window in sight. The only light source was the bright light above his head. The only upside was that the room was recently built, so the paint was fresh. Yes, he couldn't even touch any walls and he would reek of paint for the next few weeks.

"Good to be home, eh, Sasuke?" Naruto called nervously from behind him. Apparently he had been talking to the Uchiha the entire time, he just hadn't noticed.

"Yeah. Home."

-never realised home was so crappy-

A timetable was written up for all the criminals in the detention centre. They all had to take educational classes for some reason.

Tsunade had noticed that the other nations were getting ahead of her own academically, and she had started sending all children and teens to school. The ninja were an exception, but they still had to attend at least one day every two weeks. The school day pattern was different for them; the Hokage reasoned that if she were their age, she wouldn't want to go to school every single day, so she made them attend every second day. After eight weeks worth of days, they would get a three week holiday, then the process would start up again. It seemed pretty functional and she wouldn't be embarrassed about the kids' test scores anymore.

The kids were all very excited about the new program at first, but it was clear that some of them were under stress from assignments and such. She separated all the ninja into different classes without homework and assessments firstly, wanting them to put most of their free time into training. It was then that she had an idea; the teens in the detention centre would most likely be forced to become loyal to Konoha when their time was done, unless their home country requested they returned. So why not make them do it, too?

And they would have to go every day. It's not like they had anything else to do, right?

So that is why the criminals all had timetables, indicating where they would have to be and when. There weren't many classes.

The main ones were Japanese and Mathematics, along with Ninja Studies for those that were qualified shinobi. The villagers were all allowed to pick three other classes they could take on other days. The school hours were 10am to 4pm, so on one day they studied main subjects and the next they studied chosen ones.

It wasn't hard to find villagers to teach other villagers. There were plenty of people that didn't have much else to do, especially stay-at-home mothers, that volunteered. It was a problem, however, to find anyone gutsy enough to teach at the jail.

They would need a ninja to do it, of course. Someone that could control the wild pupils. They would probably need to be skilled in genjutsu, if things ever got out of hand. So several skilled shinobi were selected to fill in the spots, and thus began a new era amongst the village.

-new era's suck-

Sasuke examined the sheet of paper that was handed to him by a trembling Chuunin. Many of the people around Konoha seemed to be afraid of him, though he didn't have the slightest idea why. Maybe it was the way he glared at them all, or wrote death promises in his own blood across the walls. Whatever the reason, he was not pleased when he learnt what would be happening with the whole school business. Hadn't Kakashi established it was a detention centre, not an educational one?

The next morning he was woken by the sound of wood clashing into the metal bars of his cell. There was a new ninja waking him up this morning. Probably because he had killed the last one.

Now, readers, please try and understand. It had been many years since somebody had attempted to approach him when he was asleep for one, knowing what a short temper he had. Not even Orochimaru dared awaken the kid. So when somebody came and rattled the cell, it was a mere instinct to destroy them. Nothing more.

Though it had earned him more jail time, he didn't mid. Other than the fact that people stared at him all day from behind decorative masks, it was rather peaceful and easygoing. He had no responsibilities, no worries. He was completely isolated from the outside world, which didn't bother him at all. The only time he was interrupted from his solitude was when Naruto came to visit (every day he wasn't on a mission, right after his trip to the new tsukemen bar, so he had a nice story to tell him of the adventures that took place) everything was fine.

The fact that he had to go to school _every day _for the next four years was not fine. Yes, his sentence was four years long. It had been three, to make up for the time he was gone, but he killed a guard, so...

A neatly folded uniform in a plastic wrapping was slid underneath his cell door. There were multiple bolts and locks on the outside and not many people could be bothered undoing them all just to give Sasuke something, so he was pretty used to it. The Uchiha didn't like the uniform, either.

The outfit consisted of a white formal button-up shirt, with dark green rimmed around the tips of his collar. There were also black trousers that reached just past his ankles and a green tie, topped off with black leather shoes. He looked like a complete dork.

After seeing himself in the mirror dangling above his tiny basin, he loosened the tie and ruffled the collar, so the look was more relaxed. It wasn't as bad as before, he figured.

And so began the first day of Sasuke's school life.

-end chapter one-

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**Please review! I'd really appreciate it if you did...?**

**BTW the romance part is SasuXOC, just thought I should say that since it's not in the summary.**


	2. Two: The New System, Parties and Idiots

**A/N: I will include all the other characters later on. Please be aware that I will be adding OC criminals that are in the DC (detention centre).**

**Gah! I only have one review :'(. Does nobody loves meh?**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or any other characters, etc.**

**Please review at the end, they help me to write!**

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_Student: Uchiha, Sasuke_

_Home Class/Pastoral Class: 10D_

_Security Level: Number One, High. Keep watch at all times._

_Sensei: Jun Souta (Jounin Classed, specialized in controlling the chakras of other ninja when in a five metre radius)_

**Monday:**

Mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics

**Tuesday:**

Elective

Elective

Elective

**Wednesday:**

Japanese

Japanese

Japanese

**Thursday:**

Mathematics

Japanese

Japanese

**Friday:**

Japanese

Mathematics

Mathematics

**Saturday:**

Elective

Elective

Elective

**Sunday:**

Elective

Elective

Elective

The homeroom 10D was hard to find at first. Every room was in a jumbled order, which really didn't make sense at all. There were also several levels making Sasuke's life more and more difficult.

He decided to trace his steps back to the beginning, where a lady sat at a front registration desk. After asking her for directions to his classroom, he strode casually in the direction she pointed out. He wasn't sure why he had been in such a rush to get to class early. It was probably a pride thing. After thinking it all through, the Uchiha decided it really wasn't necessary. There were a whole three and a half hours left he could learn in.

When he finally found his classroom, he subconsciously straightened his tie and walked through the door, his head held high. Why was he making such a big deal out of all this?

A few students had already been seated. He had taken note of the fact that his class was under the highest security, and came to the conclusion that there were only going to be the worst of criminals in the same class as him. Seven desks were scattered around the room, each wide enough to seat two pupils.

_Great, I'll have to share._

Three sets of eyes locked on the raven head as he was assigned his seat, two pairs fearful and one arrogant. A few glares set that foolish loser straight.

Two ANBU were seated in the back of the class keeping watch over them. Sasuke was slightly amused. They went to all the trouble of watching him like a hawk, the least he could do was make their time worthwhile.

-like fifteen minutes later or something-

It seemed the Uchiha wasn't the only criminal that didn't feel the need to worry. After fifteen minutes, though to Sasuke it felt like hours, everyone had arrived. Those who were late were given detentions, which consisted of Ibiki trapping them in a room with their worst nightmares or phobias. He made a mental note not to be late, ever.

Tsunade was really taking this seriously.

Jun, their sensei, cleared his throat once everyone was in order. He introduced himself and sent around a sheet of paper for everyone to fill out. You were supposed to fill in a personality test for Maths. How stupid.

Sasuke ignored the survey and took this time to assess his fellow students. There was the arrogant looking guy sitting in the back of the class. His hair was light brown which complemented his pale grey eyes, his shirt wrinkled even though they had only just gotten it. He seemed like the type who thought they were better than everyone else, but the loudmouthed of those kind. They wouldn't get along.

Just next to the loudmouth was a girl that looked very child-like. Her deep purple hair was in two high pigtails above her head, with a small fringe brushing her forehead. She constantly darted her black eyes from one ANBU to the next, in a sinister fashion.

In the front of the three rows were two boys who looked like they knew each other already. One of them, the one on the right from Sasuke's view, had jet-black hair. It was short at the back but got longer towards his face, forming a long fringe that covered one of his brown eyes. He was very skinny and his uniform was far too large for his delicate frame. Something about him was off.

The other boy – who looked more like a man – was completely bald. He wore a colourful bandana around his forehead tied in a knot by his left ear. Despite his muscular features, he seemed afraid of everything and everyone. It was a strange bunch indeed.

What seemed really strange, though, was that nobody had been seated next to the Uchiha. Everyone had a buddy but him. It didn't bother the boy, though; he would prefer it if he got to spend the troublesome four years in an anti-social fashion. Making friends was too much of a hassle, even if he would have to deal with them every day.

When Jun started to teach it was clear nobody was interested. The loudmouthed boy, whose name ironically turned out to be Shouhei, made loud snores and paper planes throughout the entire duration of the class. That is, until Sasuke death glared him and he fell silent.

The whole thing was shaky and unprofessional. Nobody was used to the program yet so it was to be expected, but it was quite irritating for the raven haired boy when he saw just _how_ shaky and unprofessional his new sensei was. The man, Jun, was short and lanky. He wore thick rimmed glasses and tucked his Jounin jumper in to his cargo pants, making him look hunched over, like a crippled hobbit. He didn't seem comfortable in front of an audience, which made it harder to follow along. Not that anyone was.

When the three hours finally ended, everyone evacuated the tiny space as if there was a fire.

_This is going to be a long four years..._

-elsewhere-

Naruto shifted the 'tsukemen' noodles into his soup bowl, turning it into a bowl of ramen. There were certain chefs that weren't too happy about this, but that didn't concern him.

Life was very peaceful now that the Akatsuki had been stopped. There was still the issue of Kabuto whom had managed to get away after the trio killed Madara Uchiha, but that was a worry for another day. It had been a very long time since Naruto had gotten a chance to relax, what with the constant missions he now received.

That was a result of his newfound popularity around the country. After Naruto had defeated Pain, Madara and ended a war, his name was spreading around like wildfire. The richest and most respected citizens would call upon him to do all sorts of missions, some that didn't even involve work. In one case, a man had payed him to show up at his kids birthday.

The amount of adoration he got from the villagers was astounding. After a life of being hated and shunned, it was a nice change.

Everything in Naruto's life was great. Well, nearly everything, not counting the fact that he hardly ever got to see Sasuke anymore. Tsunade had created some dumb school that everyone under the age of 18 had to attend. Unfortunately for them both, the people in the DC had to go every day where as the blond only had to go once every two weeks or so.

With Naruto being in high demand and Sasuke constantly slave-drived, their social lives weren't blooming. That's when he got an idea.

-oh crap naruto is thinking again-

"You want to throw him a welcome party?" Tsunade was not impressed. The idiot had burst down the door and stumbled into her office shouting ideas. Did he ever tire of humiliation?

"Yeah, yeah! We could, like, rent out a room or something, or have it at my place, and we'll have his favourite food, and lots of candy and sweets to cheer him up, and we'll watch movies and play games, and we'll invite all the people who missed him over the years, like Sakura, Kakashi, that guy with the glasses nobody likes-"

"No."

Naruto stopped short, and then continued to whine in a high-pitched annoying voice.

"_WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT...?"_

-weeks later in other people's personal lives-

Ino brushed a stray hair from her forehead and inspected her reflection, assessing each and every flaw. Today was the day of Sasuke's welcome party, which he didn't know about, and she had to look perfect.

She didn't like Sasuke anymore, which was all ancient history. But through all the obsessing and frothing over him, she had come to see that she really did kind of like him for who he was in a way, not just his absolute hotness. Though the gorgeous looks did help. And she had to face it, he was still stunning. Wherever he would go, he would always turn heads. How did he manage to stay under the radar for so long?

She was wearing her usual purple outfit, though she made sure to show off more of her midriff than usual and rolled up her skirt. If he was going to look totally amazing, so was she.

"Ino, you friends are here to pick you up," her mother called from downstairs.

"Alright, I'm nearly ready!" Ino called back. Before she left the house, she always had to put in the earrings she received from Asuma before he passed away. They were special to her, to her squad.

Slipping the two studs into her ear lobes, she skipped down the stairs and eyed Shikamaru lingering in the door frame.

"What took you so long?" He asked half-heartedly, yawning after he was done. Ino rolled her eyes.

"Well, sorry for caring about my appearance, Shika."

She waved her hand at him to indicate what he was wearing. He looked the same as always, if not a little scruffier.

"It's a welcome party, not a palace ball."

-so like where's it at-

Kakashi and Sakura pinned up the last of the streamers, then smiled with satisfaction. Now the entire academy gym was ready for an awesome party.

Their sensei stretched, then lay back on a chair and read his pervy books. Sakura couldn't help but smile.

Everyone together again. Finally...

She skipped to the centre of the room and twirled in her dress, which she had put on just for this occasion. It wasn't really fancy, she didn't want to stand out. She wore a knee-length floral dress that flowed freely, showing off her feminine legs and shapely curves. Never had she looked so womanly.

Naruto burst through the door then carrying more food than he could handle.

"Hey, uh, can someone help- WAH!" The blond fell flat on his face, followed by an avalanche of sweets and canned drinks. Everything he and Sakura had pitched in together to afford – which meant everything _she_ bought – was now scattered all over the wooden floor, making a giant mess.

"NARUTO!" She wailed at the top her lungs, then proceeded to beat him until he was nothing more than a lumpy pile on the ground.

"Gah... I didn't mean to... Sakura..." she sighed.

"Just clean it up, I'll go get some last minute provisions."

Well, that's what you get for letting Naruto organize a party.

-so like how's the work going-

A few weeks had passed, and still Sasuke sat alone in the back of the class. He had overheard a couple of Jounin's discussing a new prisoner, who was still too ruthless to let out. He figured that if they were that crazy, they would end up in the same class as the loons he'd been placed with.

He had learnt the names of everyone in his class by then; the purple haired girl was Fumi and the two in the front were Makoto and Hisoka. Unfortunately, he and Shouhei were already acquainted due to a lunchtime incident. None of them ever talked to him after that. Sasuke figured they were all too intimidated, or they just didn't care.

On the second day of school, he had to choose two classes he would do on elective days. There weren't many appealing options.

There was History, Art, Weapons, Self-Guidance (exclusive to prisoners) and Physical Education. The Uchiha ended up picking History and Art, so he wouldn't have to participate in anything, which suited him fine. He secretly held a love for art, too.

It was a full week later, while gazing out a window for the first time in ages during History, that he finally met the person seated beside him. He had a different teacher for History, one that was far less weird in his opinion. Ishi, the teacher, had brought in the new girl that day and told her to sit next to Sasuke.

Her hair was brown and wavy at waist length, a small side fringe hanging lazily over one eye. Her eyes were also brown, but they were far darker than her hair, almost black. Her uniform was the same shirt as the boys only it levelled in the centre, creating the illusion of an hourglass figure. Her skirt was at knee's length, modestly covering her legs and her socks were pulled up just as high. She looked like a geek. But it was chic.

A chic geek.

And when he saw her, he just couldn't help but stare. Where had he seen her before?

-that's like the end for now bro's-

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**Please review! And for those wondering, yes I am aware that all my breaks are not correctly punctuated. I did it on purpose.**


	3. Three: Welcome Home!

**YOSH!**

**Hello, ever youthful readers! Please enjoy my latest chapter. Congratulations on being active readers and seeking to expand the growth of your mind!**

**DISCLAIMER: I, amaranteotaku, do not own Naruto in any way or form. I do own the OC characters involved in all my fics, however, and I d not give consent for anyone to steal them.**

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Edena hadn't taken her eyes off of him since she was assigned a seat. The first thing she did when she sat down in a huff was hold out her hand in greeting.

"Hey there, you must be the Uchiha. Sasuke, was it?" She didn't wait for an answer. "My name is Edena Izumi, and we are going to be friends, got that?"

He didn't reply, only ignoring her childishness. She was an incompetent fool of the worst kind, and Sasuke already did not like her.

She made random comments and did as she pleased, without thinking through what she did or said. It was entertaining, though unnecessary.

Sasuke had decided that he would do as he pleased without breaking rules, so the time went by faster without him gaining any more. Though he desired to be rebellious, he found he wasn't so keen after a few days. It would be hard work to be bad for four whole years, so he concluded it would be better to just blend in and wait the time out.

The first two weeks had proven to be bland and uninteresting, so it was refreshing meeting Edena and having her around, even if she was very irritating.

On Friday the following week, she had sat with him at lunch break. There were separate dining halls for different ranked criminals, and it turned out they were the only two in the S-Rank besides an older teenager that was obsessed with his red notebook. He spent all his time mumbling maniacally to himself and scribbling in it, so the two of them just fell into place together.

The first conversation they shared was not something you would call normal.

_Previously_

"So, why are you here?" she asked innocently, prodding the mush on her food tray with a spoon.

"I left the village three years ago, killed the 6th Hokage and fought on the opposing side of the Great Ninja war we had recently." She whistled, obviously impressed.

"Whoa, you've done some serious shit." She grinned a grin so large it would look unnatural on anyone else but Naruto.

Sasuke didn't feel like talking to the little girl, but he had to admit he was curious about her. Looking at Edena, you wouldn't think she was a criminal. She was tall, almost as tall as he was. That was saying something, considering the fact the Uchiha matched the height of his old sensei Kakashi. She wasn't fat, but not skinny either, and her butt was pretty big. Not that he looked; it was just noticeable in her skirt. If anyone else had seen her, they may have considered her attractive, though she gave off the impression of some sort of loser.

Putting her looks aside, the fact still remained that she had been too dangerous to release amongst everyone else, even more so than himself.

"So, what about you then?" She had started to stuff her face with gruel and had to swallow before answering. There was a something nasty hanging from the corner of her lips.

"Who, me?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"You are the only person at this table."

"I was forced to go under Orochimaru's command a while back, and afterwards I started killing mercilessly because I hated ninja's. You know, typical troubled teen crap."

He blinked. She had been with Orochimaru? But when? He was sure she looked a little familiar, but not _that_ familiar.

"Why did you join Orochimaru?" She scoffed.

"I didn't choose to join him, obviously. Old man, obsessed with little boys..." she shuddered. He knew what she meant.

"So why did you go?"

"Well, you see, I was once a part of a little something called ANBU ROOT, you may have heard of them?" He nodded. They were created and controlled by Danzo before he killed the man.

She smiled. "The leader, the man you eliminated, didn't like me very much, even though I was the best of all his pawns. He made a contract with Orochimaru years ago, but the snake didn't think it was completely fair. So, they made a deal. If the Sannin kept his side of the bargain, he would give him me as a tool for experimenting."

Edena's eyes became misty and distant. She seemed to be having some sort of flashback in her mind.

"Why would Orochimaru accept that? You would have to have some sort of gift, something desirable."

She winked at him. "That's right! I have the ability to heal at incredible speeds, something I picked up from a distant bloodline. I really didn't have many great jutsu back then, but that particular attribute was useful in the experimenting. No matter how many times he used me, I always recovered and showed the end result. If I happened to die during one of them, he would know the jutsu is incomplete and wait for me to revive." She bunched her hands into fists.

"It was some time before he did his final test, one that I don't know the name of. It had something to do with him switching bodies so he could live forever." Sasuke glared into the table. He knew all about that technique.

"How did that one go?"

"It wasn't a complete success the first time. I died multiple times, even though the body transition was complete. I attained several unique jutsu from the ninja he sacrificed, though the snake man couldn't use it if he died."

Sasuke thought through the information given. "So does that mean you have three people's justu? You can use them all perfectly?"

Edena stuck out her tongue. "Be jealous, Uchiha."

_End _

The two of them hung out more after that, sitting together in all classes and getting to know each other. Sasuke hadn't gotten much of a choice. She followed him everywhere, whether he like it or not. It was like Edena was sussing him out, or maybe she just wanted to be friends. Whatever the reason, they were together everyday like that. And everyone knows that when a boy and a girl stick together all the time, rumours start to arise.

-that obnoxious kid we mentioned-

Shouhei snatched up the note and opened it hurriedly. All the girls had been giggling and squealing over the 'hottest guy' in school getting a girlfriend. He didn't remember hooking up with anyone and decided to check it out.

When he read the crumpled paper, he laughed so everyone could hear.

"Well, well, so the traitor and the test subject are doing it, huh? What a stupid assumption."

He was hit over the head by a short-tempered girl in the same lunch room as him. She was very skilled in Taijutsu and Water Style, so she sure packed a punch.

"Cut it out, ShouShou. It's totally obvious, they spend all their time together. And have you seen the ways that wench looks at him? She's totally infatuated, though I don't blame her. That guy is hot enough to melt hell!" Several giggling girls chattered in agreement.

Shouhei turned up his nose and jumped on the top of a table. "C'mon, ladies! Why go for second best when you can have someone that's experienced?"

Everyone laughed and shouted, throwing wrappers and chairs his way. They were all so laid back for criminals, it was hard to believe they were all so guilty.

-so what's happening with the food-

Sakura and Ino scattered all their friends around the village, sending them to pick up snacks for the party they were still putting together. Tsunade had barely agreed to let Sasuke get out of the DC walls with minimal security and she wasn't going to wait around for them much longer.

Naruto had been banned from helping any longer after his previous blunder, and he sulked in a corner for the remainder of time. It had been his idea in the first place, how could they exclude him like that? Watching everyone having a blast together setting up, Naruto devised a master plan to get back at them all. He was the prank master, after all.

-the office-

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck tiredly.

"Is that alright with you, Kakashi?" Tsunade knew he would agree to it. Whether they like it or not, Sasuke would have to leave the DC eventually. And when he did, they would have no choice other than allow him to participate in regular ninja activity. Sai had been his temporary replacement, and now he had returned. So what would become of him if they didn't start a four-man squad? Everyone had become far too attached to the pale kid.

"Very well, once Sasuke has completed his sentence I will have them all in the same squad. It's not like it will make that much of a difference, since two of them are already Chuunin."

"Good. You are dismissed." The Jounin was about to leave when he hesitated.

"Lady Tsunade, I just had a thought." The Hokage put down her 'tea' and stood.

"What is it?"

"Well, none of them have been on a mission together in far too long. I am afraid how they will all behave once reunited?"

Tsunade had known this was coming. Of course, it would be very awkward for all of them. Not to mention issues with trust.

"Don't worry, Kakashi," her voice was soft and hypnotizing, as if drizzled with honey. It was strange to hear her sounding so sweet. "I have complete faith in Naruto, and he believes Sasuke has changed. So I will trust him."

Kakashi gasped, then stopped himself. "I understand."

-so how's the party coming-

Sakura ran the back of her hand across her sweaty forehead in relief. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she realized they were supposed to retrieve Sasuke and hour ago. Yelling at the top of her lungs, she latched onto Ino's arm and dragged her towards where she remembered the DC was at full speed.

When they reached the front desk, both of them had ruffled hair and looked shaken. Quickly retouching their looks, they nodded at each other and asked to be lead to his room.

They walked slowly down many hallways. For some reason, Sakura felt hostile towards her friend. Both of them were going to get Sasuke, the boy they used to fight over so senselessly. Even though she knew Ino didn't like him that way anymore, all the anger and jelousy was suddenly flooding back.

She quickly scanned the blond girls figure, then glanced down at her own. It was clear she didn't have the upper hand when it came to femininity.

She mentally slapped herself for thinking that way.

_What are you thinking? Ino is your best friend. Don't let the past get in between that again. Mates before dates. Mates before dates. Mates... dates... would Sasuke even date me?_

She knew she shouldn't be thinking like that. It was true she was still entirely obsessed with him, but this time she wasn't going to let it show. She would have a normal friendship with him and get over her ridiculous feelings. That was the plan.

Apparently it was lunch time, because they were lead to an empty circular room with three doors, each leading to separate dining rooms. They both decided they would have to peep into them all to locate Sasuke and drag him to the academy.

Ino was feeling jumpy. Being surrounded by a bunch of blood-thirsty criminals wasn't her definition of fun. Still, she couldn't contain the happiness she felt. Finally, she would see Sasuke again.

The first room the entered was half empty. Everyone fell silent as they scanned the room for the Uchiha, when a certain red-haired kunoichi greeted them.

"Looking for something?" she asked innocently. Sakura gasped; she knew this girl. Sasuke had demanded she kill her when they saw each other months ago. She didn't remember the girl's name, but she would never forget the sadness on her face. The second she had met her, she knew she had been as foolishly and hopelessly in love with Sasuke as she was.

Karin recognized her as well, though she didn't let it show. Sakura had spared her life, and though she was grateful, she didn't like her. Her man and the pink girl had been on the same team a while back, and it made her furious. Yes, he had treated Karin like a worthless piece of trash. But as crazy as it was, she loved it. The roughness of him, the way he was so smooth, how he was his own boss. It made her melt inside.

Sakura was too dumbfounded to answer right away, when Ino came to the rescue.

"Yes, we are here for Sasuke Uchiha. Have you seen him?"

"Oh, yes. Yes I have." When it was clear the redhead wouldn't continue, she tried again.

"Can you tell us where he is?"

Karin twirled a finger through her hair. "I'm sure I _can_ tell you. But I won't."

Ino growled. So she was toying with them? Sakura found her voice and interjected.

"It is clear he isn't in this room. Let's go." A very loud and obnoxious whisper just reached their ears before they could escape.

"He's probably making out with his _girlfriend_," the boy teased.

Sakura froze. What girlfriend?

-end yet another chapter-

**Please review, I looove reviews.**


	4. Four: That Girlfriend

**Hey everyone!**

**Thank you to my three reviewers, I really appreciate the input!**

**Seriously, I only wrote this chapter because I was getting reviews. If you like the story, then all I ask is for you to review. I don't mind constructive criticism! It helps me get better. xD**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto. I think I should add that I do own all the OC's, and I do not allow anyone to copy them, ever.**

**THEY ARE MINE, I TELL YOU!**

**...Thanks.**

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Sasuke looked up when he heard his name called. He was getting lost in his thoughts often these days, usually thinking about his brother and reminding himself why he returned.

Edena was waving a zip-lock bag in front of his eyes.

"Check it out!" she giggled excitedly.

Sasuke didn't see what was so special about a bag full of eye drop medicine. What a sad boy he was.

"Um... what about it?"

Edena rolled her eyes. "I didn't think someone as ignorant as you would understand the majesty of the eye dropping tool."

Sasuke shrugged and began prodding the pile of mush they called food. It looked more like a moose had eaten way too many ugly sticks, and then regurgitated them onto platters for criminals.

Edena slowly unzipped the plastic bag, big brown eyes bulging in wonder. Carefully lifting out one of the five boxes, she slipped the top open and let the eye dropper roll onto her tray, which she had emptied into the trash. Not even she would eat something as vile as prison food.

She pulled off the squishy ends of the tools, one by one, then squeezed the ends and pushed them on her fingers. By the time she had covered the tips of one hand, she realized she didn't have any more and began to fool around with what she had.

"Hey, emo kid."

"Don't call me that."

"Look," she completely ignored his request and placed her thumb on the end of her nose, stretching out her other fingers until her hand looked like a plastic glove being blown up. "I am an alien, and you will do what I say, otherwise suffer intense probing to your genitals!"

The Uchiha tried to ignore her. He wasn't entirely sure why he spent time with her. Maybe it was the way she could brighten any situation, or maybe it was the fact that she annoyed the hell out of everyone else, giving him endless solitude.

For some reason, her childishness didn't bother him. If somebody else tried to pull off what she did, say Naruto for example, he would instantly become aggravated. Yet it was strangely bearable when Edena did it. There was innocence about her, and you couldn't help but feel she was just premature and didn't know any better. Perhaps that was the case.

Amidst all his thinking, the brown haired kunoichi had managed to sneak next to him and put her arm around his shoulder.

"Hey, why did you leave the village in the first place?" He scoffed.

"Please."

She loosened her grip and made him look at her. Something tugged in Sasuke's stomach when he looked at her. Was it his stomach? "Why won't you tell me?"

He sighed and turned away. It was like talking to a child. A sweet, ignorant child.

"It's... personal."

She moved away from him, sensing his reluctance. "I'm sorry."

Before they could chat any further, a powerful voice echoed through the near empty hall.

"Sasuke, there you are! It's me, Ino!"

Said ninja scanned the room until he laid eyes upon a blonde girl, who was jumping and waving her arms like she was having a seizure.

Sakura accompanied her, and they both strode excitedly towards the teens eating their gruel.

Sakura glared at Edena, who skulked to the other edge of the seat. She could be pretty intimidating when she wanted to be.

Ino couldn't contain her happiness as she lunged towards the Uchiha, as if they were old friends.

"What the- hey! Get off me!" When she released her death grip around his neck, Ino rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment.

"S-sorry, it's just that I haven't seen you in so long, and... wow!" She clapped her hands and jostled about with glee.

Sasuke was pretty sure he had never met her in his entire lifetime.

The blonde brightened. "How about we catch up some time? I've missed you terribly; you have no idea how sad everybody was when you left, Sasuke. I nearly died!"

Sasuke was also fairly certain he did not want to catch up with the bubbly teenager before him.

Sakura thought that preposition was a good sign she should interrupt.

"Sasuke, we've been looking for you," he averted his gaze to her lazily. "Tsunade would like to meet you for a check up in the academy building, and we've been sent to escort you there. I know it's not really professional, but the hospital is still being re-built, and there are so many patients filling beds since the war ended..." her voice trailed off. Sasuke hung his head in shame, feeling an overwhelming guilt.

It hadn't been his intention to start a war. He hadn't started it, either; Madara had. But the mere thought of a noble member if the Uchiha clan causing such devastation shook him to his core. The name could never be respected again.

Sakura noticed the change of atmosphere and decided to get things back on track.

"Anyway, you have to come with me and Ino now." She glanced towards the brown-haired girl that had been sitting beside him. She was now hovering about aimlessly, staring at the ceiling in fascination.

Smiling sweetly, she added, "Bring your friend."

Edena felt someone watching her and turned to meet two pale green eyes filled with envy and malice. She shivered and made a mental note not to ever talk to her without several capable ninja nearby.

"Hn," Sasuke looked Edena up and down. "No."

Sakura's left eye twitched slightly. She wanted to see how much of a threat the girl was.

"Why not?"

"Because, she's a bit of a sociopath."

_Perfect_, Sakura thought. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

Sasuke felt annoyed at her. "Why does she have to come along to a medical check-up?"

He had her there.

"Fine, never mind." He growled, sending shivers down Edena's spine. Ino didn't seem to be affected by her.

There are a few things anyone that intends on becoming friends with Sakura should know.

She is very aggressive and crazy, often experiencing unexpected and untimely mood swings.

She has two different souls with individual personalities (it's a birth defect); one that's absolutely insane and impulsive, and another that is sensible and calm. You always have to check which one of the masks she is wearing upon approach.

She has a habit of using all the people closest to her relentlessly, like tools, unconsciously of course. She really doesn't mean to.

She is obsessive and excessive in everything she did.

These were things Edena was yet to discover.

Ino couldn't take being silent any longer.

"Well, hurry up and come with us!" she urged, pulling on his arm.

He reluctantly agreed, though he didn't understand why they were both so excited he was getting a medical.

-oh that's why-

Yeah, it wasn't a medical check-up.

Apparently, they decided to throw him some sort of surprise party in a welcoming gesture.

Sasuke _hated _parties, with a passion. In fact, any type of social event bothered him deeply. It really didn't help that most of the people he 'disliked' were attending, too.

As they neared the new academy gym, the two girls became eerily quiet. It was nice break for his ears since the two had been chewing them off with pointless discussions the entire way, but it was sudden. He was instantly on alert sensing the act that they were hiding something.

_Konoha bastards,_ he thought to himself, secretly preparing for an ambush.

No amount of preparation, however, could have saved him from what lay ahead.

Sakura held the doors open for him and gestured into a room with dimmed lights.

"After you," she grinned slyly, making Sasuke want to retreat while he still could. He was about to, actually, when he heard a high-pitched whisper yell out to someone else in the room.

"Neji, hide Chouji! He's still visible under the table!" Naruto.

Ah, they were throwing him a party. Now he wanted to run even more.

-loner at lunch-

Edena waited a few moments after Sasuke left before she dropped the act.

"Phew," she sighed, regaining her composure. It was tough acting like a childish retard all the time, but it had to be done. Otherwise her mission would be a failure.

_**Several weeks before...**_

_Edena flicked some of her hair from her face impatiently._

"_Do you understand?" Tsunade asked, feeling annoyed herself. That girl couldn't hold her tongue when it came to sass._

"_Yeah, yeah. You want me to watch over the Uchiha kid and record his activities. If he tries anything funny, I'll report to you right away. Are we done?"_

_Her lack of respect certainly was getting on the Hokage's nerves. She didn't trust the girl, nobody did. But the only way to get her out of the village was to end her time in jail, since she was from Konoha. They couldn't let her out without some reason, however. The other nations would no doubt protest against it, and something drastic could happen, which was the last thing they needed._

_If she watched over Sasuke for a few weeks and made sure he behaved, they would set her free for her assistance, and she'd be out of their hair. Tsunade was also giving her permission to leave the village as long as she returned once in a while, so they still had connections. _

_Edena was feared throughout the village because of the things her family had done in the past, namely assassinations. When the girl was just a baby, her parents and uncle were sent to live in the outskirts of the Leaf's walls, due to multiple safety concerns from villagers. She had been raised an outcast; never had she had a single friend. It was no wonder she had fallen into Danzo's hands, their incredible sleuthing abilities obviously helped him in many ways._

_After he got bored of her, he gave Edena to Orochimaru as part of a deal. She refused to speak of what happened then, though many of the ninja that interrogated her suspected she'd fallen under his scalpel at some point. There was no telling what she was capable of._

"_You may leave," Tsunade replied. _

Now we can only hope she'll participate,_ she thought groggily._

_**Back to the story...**_

She couldn't keep an eye on him if he wasn't on the DC grounds. She would have to escape, which would be harder to do with Orochimaru's seal.

After her multiple successful attempts to escape from his clutches, he had placed a strange seal on her back between her shoulder blades. It stopped her from using her families' bloodline trait, which was the ability to completely cover up all traces of their chakras and become invisible to the naked eye. It didn't work with most kekkei-genkai unfortunately, but there weren't too many of them around anymore.

All she had to do was focus all her willpower on using the technique, and she may have a chance on completing it.

-party up-

The first thing Sasuke fekt when he walked through the giant doors was a bucket full of water falling on his head.

Naruto clapped his hands together and bounced around like the idiot he was.

"Ha! That's what you get for excluding me, you guys!"

"WELCOME BACK, SASUKE!" everyone in the room cheered. It made the Uchiha nauseous, the kindness they showed. They should all hate him and treat him like the traitor he was. He couldn't begin to understand how they dropped all grudges almost instantly.

The crown slowly closed in on him, making him claustrophobic. They were all shouting greetings and questions at him like he was in a battlefield. He had to dodge them all skilfully, like they were deadly kunai.

"Why did you come back, after all this time?" Kiba shouted foolishly. He wasn't very happy with the way things had turned out.

"Change of heart. I realized what a fool I was being." The Inuzuka seemed to find his response acceptable, for the time being.

"It was your destiny to come back now. Was it not?" Neji chimed in, not expecting an answer.

"You must feel _really_ bad, huh?" Tenten laughed.

"Yes, I have soiled my family's good name." Everyone was quiet for a moment. It was Naruto that recovered from his odd response first.

"Hey, hey! You met Sai, didn't you? He was your replacement while you were gone. You have got to come with us to a hot spring!" A devilish smile crossed his lips.

"That doesn't sound very appealing," he answered monotonely.

"Do you even remember me, Sasuke?" the blonde from earlier huffed. She'd finally caught on after Sakura had pointed out his awkwardness towards her.

"No, I don't."

She sulked away, dragging a vaguely familiar Chunin along with her with pineapple-shaped hair.

"I bet he doesn't remember me, either," a slightly emo voice said right by Sasuke's ear.

"I didn't notice you were there, actually."

He took serious offence to this and walked in the general direction of an empty corner. Oddly, nobody seemed to care.

"Alright, don't smother him," Kakashi poofed onto a wooden rafter above their heads.

Sakura grabbed his arm and pulled him towards a discreet area in the back.

"Sasuke, you remember me, right?" her eyes were wide and almost teary.

"Of course I do," he answered. It was true, he did remember her. She was the one that always fainted and made a fool of herself until recently, and her improvement was impressive.

She looked relieve to hear it. Brightening suddenly, she called for Naruto and Kakashi.

"What is it, Sakura?" the blond asked. He was enjoying all the free food.

"I was thinking we should take a group picture. Like the one when we were Genin. You know, for old times' sake!" her cheeks tinted with a light pink, and Naruto grinned broadly.

"That's an awesome idea! You're so smart, Sakura."

Obviously the loser was the same personality wise.

Sasuke didn't think it was such a great idea, but chose not to make a big deal of it. He had experienced episodes where he missed his old team, if only a little. Though he'd never let it show.

They were his first real friends.

-end chapter-

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	5. Five: The Plan

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto in any way or form.**

**Chapter five! The romance and tension is going to heat up more now, so bear with me.**

"Say cheese!" Tenten laughed. She had booked a photographer prior to the party date, and it was a good thing she did.

Kakashi was in the center, with his hands on the boys' shoulders. They had grown immensely over the three years, and were now too tall for him to rest them on their heads. Sakura had to stand to the side of the Jounin, for she was now too tall to stand in front of him. Sasuke folded his arms and gave the best smile he could manage, which turned out to be pretty pathetic. Naruto was no longer scowling at the Uchiha, either; he was side-staring at him with the biggest grin his cheeks could manage.

The photo was completely different, but just as precious at the one of them years ago.

Sakura cheered when it was taken. She was too excited; it was like all her dreams had come true overnight.

Amidst all the chatter and cheers, Sakura unconsciously wrapped her arms around Sasuke's chest.

A few curious eyes ogled at the spectacle, though the show didn't last long. He wasn't used to physical contact and mistook the gesture for an attack.

Letting his reflexes take control, Sakura found herself pinned to the wall with a kunai at her neck.

The room fell silent. Kakashi moved swiftly to pull the two apart. Pulling Sasuke by his shirt collar, the Jounin yanked at his throat and pushed him to the floor.

Sakura crumpled to the ground in shock. Had Sasuke just tried to kill her?

Sasuke shook his head, mouth slightly ajar. "I-I didn't mean to!"

Kakashi scowled at him. "I knew you weren't to be trusted-"

"Wait, he's just not used to hugs!" Naruto defended him. "He probably hasn't had one for years, what with everyone being scared of him. You thought she was attacking you, right, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha looked up at him, face now emotionless. "I apologize. He is right."

Sakura took the blonde's outstretched hand and wobbled onto her feet. That had really scared her.

She had seen the way Sasuke had become consumed with evil, she'd witnessed the hatred burning in his eyes. She may have caught glimpses of him hurting other people badly before, but he had never laid a finger on her before that, other than the time she saw him leaving the village.

Even if it was accidental, she had seen his eyes. The hatred was still there, desperately clinging to any situation it could try and take control of. It was his Mangekyo Sharingan.

"It's fine," she breathed, panting slightly. "I'm fine."

-that went well-

Sasuke had to leave after that. Some ANBU that were assigned to watch over him had seen.

It wasn't a big deal to him. Just a simple misunderstanding, where he lost his head for one moment. Then again, it only took a moment to take somebody's life.

He was dismissed from further classes that day and headed straight for his cell. They had washed his clothes and left the folded on his bed.

After changing and tossing his uniform on his wooden seat, the Uchiha lay his head on his pillow and stared at the white ceiling.

The lights were too light to sleep with on, and lights out wasn't for another hour. Thinking about the party the others had thrown for him, he couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle.

Even if he thought it was weird everyone was welcoming him back so warmly, it was nice knowing not _everyone_ hated him.

What really touched him was the first words they said. Welcome home.

Home.

Sakura's terrified expression flashed through his mind, jolting him upright. He needed to control himself. Never again would he let vengeance blind him.

-what else-

Sasuke's morning wasn't great.

"I hate this crap! When are we going to get some real food?" Edena stood and stamped her foot under the table.

She had a point, though it was a loud one.

"We aren't going to get anything better, so deal." Sasuke nibbled on something green with distaste. Whatever it was, it didn't belong in soup.

"I think we should start a rebellion!" Edena yelled, alerting the guards. They readied their weapons and pinned her to the floor. She appeared next tome, seemingly out of nowhere and yelped. "I was just kidding!"

The ANBU snorted. "One more stunt like that and you're done, got that?" She nodded furiously.

It was hard to believe _she_ had been too dangerous to release at first. Was she hiding something?

When everything had settled down, the girl inched closer to him and whispered in his ear.

"We should at least sneak out to get better food."

Sasuke snorted. "How do you propose we do that?"

A glimmer shone in her eyes, indicating she was devising some sort of master plan.

_Me and my big mouth…_

-the plan-

All the people in our homeroom gathered around Sasuke's desk. Edena had somehow managed to delay Jun long enough to tell the inmates her plan.

"Well I agree, the food sucks. But what's the plan?" Shouhei demanded, crossing his arms and puffing out his chest.

"We are all going to sneak out in the dead of night, when the village is sleeping soundly, and break into local stores and shops. Then we'll bring some decent food back for everyone to share!" Silence.

Fumi, the girl with the purple hair, spoke first. "That's great and all, but how are we supposed to get past the guards?"

Edena rolled her eyes as if it were a stupid question. "I can conceal all your chakras completely, and there is a weak spot in the wall where the mirrors are in the girl's bathroom. If we can remove them, bash the walls down and escape successfully, we'll be fine!"

Everyone thought through her little plan. Sasuke wasn't taking it seriously.

"Won't the guards notice is we areal gone from our bedrooms?" Everyone looked at Edena.

"I thought of that already. They only check on us at night once, I know because I've been monitoring them for a while now. When they come to the first person, we'll make them act insane and occupy them. Meanwhile, someone else, probably in the nearest cell, will let us all know when they have come for the rounds or if they come early. Then we will all run straight back. We can transfer some of our chakra into an object so they still sense us in there."

Shouhei thought it was strange she had thought this deep into it, but kept his mouth shut.

"Uh, so we will have to go right after lights out, then come back before their rounds. That gives us, like, two hours, right?" Makoto, the lanky teen from the front row, asked. It was the first time he'd said anything.

"Right. They should have bags in their shops to carry everything back with. We can hide the goods behind the mirrors in the bathroom."

"Wait, how will the boys get them then?"

"We'll bring some for you into lunch rooms." Nobody could think of any flaws.

Sasuke played the scenario out in his head to check. "How will the person keeping watch let us know if they come early?"

Edena's smile dropped. "Um…"

"I'll do it," Hisoka, the bald man-child from the front row, said raising his hand.

"How?"

"I-I could send one of my paintballs out," He opened his vest up and pulled out a small orb, about the same size as a fingernail. "When I activate the chakra case around it, it explodes. If you see it th-then you'll know to retreat."

The man wasn't shy. He had a stutter.

Edena clasped her hands together. "Perfect!"

Sasuke still wasn't satisfied. "What happens if we get caught?"

Shouhei laughed at him mockingly. "What, you scared? We have nothing to lose now."

"How about _freedom_?" he growled, not appreciating the low-life's tone. "We could get locked up even longer."

"So what?" Fumi interjected.

"It's not like they were, like, going to let us out in the village anyway." Makoto added.

Sasuke sighed in defeat. They were right.

"Well. When do we do this?"

Edena grinned. "I think we'll be ready by tomorrow night. Anyone that wants to run to the gates and escape, say so now. We'll remember not to wait for you."

Fumi raised her hand. Edena waited a few more moments, but nobody else answered.

"Good. I'll give further details to you all tomorrow. Be ready for anything." Everyone cheered, throwing papers into the air. Instantly after they were seated, Jun walked through the door.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone. I was so caught up in trying to get here, I got lost in the halls!"

The frazzled teacher set his things on his desk and prepared for the lesson.

Sasuke glanced at Edena, who winked back. What had she done to get him lost like that?

-back to the others-

The next day, Naruto rolled out of bed and stared blankly at his calendar. Today he and Sakura had scheduled a visit to the DC to see their friend at 1pm. He gasped when he saw on his wall clock that it was already noon, jumping over his furniture to reach his closet.

Lifting his arms up to take his shirt off, he wisely decided to put some deodorant on. Fumbling through his medicine cabinet, which had a toothbrush and boxes of tweezers, didn't seem to have any in it. He didn't have time to buy some more, so he used aerosol disinfectant. The smell was from germs, right?

When he was ready to go, he jumped out his window only just seeing it was 12:13pm.

Halfway through the streets of Konoha, the smell of noodles swimming in a tasty broth wafted through the air, reminding him he had skipped breakfast.

A pool of saliva formed in his mouth.

_There's enough time for just one bowl…_

-baka-

Sakura growled inwardly, kicking a stone through a boulder effortlessly.

"He's _late_," she snarled. "And to see Sasuke, too! Men are so unreliable."

She eyed her watch. It was already half an hour past 1pm.

"Sakura! _SAKURAAAA_!" Naruto skidded around the fence she was waiting by. He had gotten so caught up in his delectable meal, he nearly forgot she was waiting for him.

Her eyes turned to slits as she marched towards him, hands balled into fists. "What were you doing for so long!"

"I, uh... I forgot breakfast, so I went to Ichirak-" That was all he could get out before she was pounding him into the cement.

"You made me wait around so you could eat breakfast in the middle of the day? Why, I ought to... _ahh_! We haven't seen Sasuke for three freakin' years and you're ready to blow him off for something you eat every single day!"

He knew he shouldn't have had seventeen bowls...

-later-

Sasuke looked up wearily when he heard his name being called. Again, by Sakura.

"Hey, Sasuke! It's us!" Naruto waved as the cell door was opened cautiously by an ANBU, whom followed them both in.

Sasuke groaned. He really wanted to sleep, and everyone knew that wasn't an option when the blond idiot was around.

Mumbling under his breath, he slowly pushed himself up from the plastic mattress and glared at them both.

"What do you want?" Naruto kept on smiling.

"We came to visit you, dummy!" He plopped down onto _Sasuke's_ chair and propped his feet on _Sasuke's_ table. "I doubt you get many other people around here, anyway."

Sakura elbowed him in the chest, winding the boy momentarily. Clearing her throat, she inched towards the Uchiha until she was right by his side.

"How are you?" she asked sweetly.

His eyes became lazy as they stared into hers. "Considering, I'm fantastic."

She giggled, then stopped abruptly, blushing.

_Friends, Sakura, _she reminded herself. Just friends.

Naruto noticed the way she was treating him. A pang of jealousy ran through him when he thought about the way she treated them both completely different.

"So, _Sasuke,_" he sat himself upright, then leant in towards his friends' face. "Tell us about Orochimaru. He must have been pretty good if you stayed with him for three years."

Naruto pumped his right arm while he spoke, malice curling around his every word.

Sasuke choked on the air he had been breathing. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing. Did you learn some cool jutsu? I didn't see you using much in our battle against Madara besides your sharingan and some demon protecting you."

Sakura was oblivious to the little game the two had started to play. "That's true."

"Hn," Sasuke smirked. "I'm not that careless. Decent shinobi don't go around revealing all their technique's to potential foes. We still haven't had our battle, have we?"

The blond jumped to his feet, pointing his index finger straight at the Uchiha. "Shut up! You think you're still better than me? I've gotten heaps better over the years, I bet I could have you begging for mercy with one hand tied behind my back!"

Sakura brought one quavering finger to her lips. The last time the two had fought was when Sasuke left...

"_NO! DON'T LEAVE ME AGAIN_!" she screamed, clutching desperately to her hair. She fell to her knees just before Naruto could catch her, shivering all over.

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. He was now standing on his feet, hands dug into his pockets.

Holding her in his arms, Naruto tried to comfort her. Why had she broken down suddenly? Was it because of him? Or was it Sasuke's fault?

He growled. "You, you did this! It's your fault that Sakura is so traumatized!"

As soon as he had spoked the words, he instantly wished he could catch them and throw them away forever, like he had never said anything at all. But it was too late. Sasuke had already heard him.

His face remained stoic. Inside, he was shaking with rage. No matter how much he hated the brat, no matter how much he wanted to deny the accusation, he knew it was true.

As little as he cared, it did hurt, if only a tiny bit.

Sakura regained her composure just as the two ANBU decided it was time for them to leave. Without saying goodbye, the two members of team seven evacuated as if there was a fire, leaving Sasuke to burn in black flames of guilt.


	6. Six: Unexpected Encounter

**...wah, I haven't been getting reviews! I'm only writing this because I really love writing, but please review and tell me what you think!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.**

**On with the story!**

* * *

Frost.

Something Edena hadn't seen in a long time. It sprouted on her window pane, making random patterns on the glass.

The weather wasn't too good for their escape, but they would have to deal with it.

Everything had been set up. Hisoka had gotten his hands on some more customized paintballs from connections he had with people on the outside. Fumi had already readied for her departure, collecting the few things she had managed to get her hands on and stuffing them in her pillow case. Shouhei was going to get vegetables, Sasuke was after fruit and bread. Edena was getting meat products that were safe to eat raw along with other miscellaneous produce. There wasn't much else to retrieve, so Makoto was in charge of bringing back requested items.

Edena had asked for gloves and eye drops, Sasuke wanted a kunai and notepad with a pen (for unknown reasons) and Hisoka asked for a paintbrush and soap.

It was clear everyone was serious.

All details were finalized at lunch; Edena gave a note to Makoto to give to everyone else in his lunch room which clarified as much.

She and Sasuke sat together at lunch like every other day, where they discussed casual matters.

"Uchiha, I challenge you to a pinkie wrestle."

Sasuke sighed. There was no peace with her around. He gingerly agreed, crushing her smallest finger with little effort.

"Gah!" she wailed. "I submit, I submit!" He released her, a smirk gracing his lips.

As annoying as the girl was, there was something about her that made him want to stay about. He inspected her features, yet again trying to remember where he had seen her before.

Her hair was messy, but it didn't look bad. Her eyes were a striking brown, which complemented her tanned skin. They were almost hypnotizing.

"What are you looking at?" she taunted cheekily. He had spaced out gazing in her eyes. How embarrassing.

"Not much," he replied, taking pleasure in her irritation.

"Whatever! You aren't exactly attractive either, you pale fish!"

That bothered him a bit, though he didn't know why. It was refreshing to meet someone that didn't instantly drool over his apparently 'gorgeous' features. One would think he would like it, but no.

He blushed a little, trying to change the subject. "Can I ask you something?"

She grinned. "You can, but I might not answer, depending on the question."

"The ANBU had said you were too dangerous to release at first. Why is this?"

She froze. How did he know? Edena didn't know what to say. She had to think of something, and fast.

"Oh, that's because I had a really contagious illness at the time." She mentally hi-fived herself for the awesome save.

"What was it?"

"Er... Diarheuss Diabolicus."

"Dia.. what? I've never heard of that before." He furrowed his eyebrows out of suspicion.

"It's very rare, and only females can get it. It's quite humiliating actually, thank you for bringing up something I have been self-conscious about for weeks."

Sasuke still didn't think that answer was acceptable, but he shrugged it off. What did it matter to him how strong she was?

-later that night-

The night was indeed cold.

It wasn't the best idea to go for a walk on such a chilly evening, but Sakura felt the need to get away from the house.

She had always found the park a very peaceful place at nighttime. The moon's reflection glistened across the duck pond, setting the whole mood.

She usually went there when something was on her mind.

_What had happened before? I can't believe I had a break-down, and right then, too. _

The incident in Sasuke's room had shaken her deeply. It was as if she had lost all willpower, being sucked into a black sea by a rift too strong for her to handle.

She let out a long sigh. Slowly bringing the top of her jacket collar towards her mouth in an attempt to warm herself, Sakura watched as two pink flower petals danced in the breeze whipping her cheeks.

They were moving in synchronization, as if they were two parts of one puzzle, meant to shift and sway together. It almost looked rehearsed.

A distant siren sounded in the air, breaking her concentration. A few people yelled from far away.

Sakura looked at her watch. 11:01pm.

Why were there people running around the village at such a late hour? She often ventured about late in the night, some later than others, but she never usually came across other wandering villagers.

Something had to be going on.

She pinched her arm. It wasn't her problem; she had come out to relax, not get mixed up in other people's business.

She reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a book on flowers she'd borrowed from Ino. She had bookmarked a page so she could find it easily later.

There was one sentence in that book she read every chance she got.

**Cherry Blossom: This stunning flower is often compared to life, beautiful yet fleeting.**

She wondered why her parents had chosen to name her after the flower. Did this description apply to her, too? Was she beautiful? She didn't feel very pretty at all.

These thoughts constantly flooded her mind, in a never ending venture to understand herself.

What did it mean for a person to be fleeting? Was it that her impression in people's life didn't last long, or maybe that she found it hard to keep people close to her for very long? She didn't know.

Sakura didn't know why she was judging herself based on a sentence in a book, either.

Some more people shouted at each other. She could barely make out some of the words. They were much closer than before.

"Uchiha... retrieve... close the gates..."

She really didn't want to jump to conclusions, but these few words made her heart race.

It couldn't be. There was no way Sasuke was trying to escape.

A hooded figure jumped onto the park bench she was sitting on from a nearby tree and pulled her into an embrace.

"Sasuke!" she gasped.

-rewind-

Sasuke pulled the cloak given to him by Fumi over himself so he would blend in. The time was almost right, when it reached 10:30pm they were all going to escape through the bathroom wall.

The small group had finally gathered and were waiting for time to hurry itself up.

_We're really doing it!_ Shouhei thought excitedly, clasping his hands together.

"Go!" Edena commanded.

The five shinobi darted through the wall out into the open, scattering in all directions.

Fumi waved goodbye to them all before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Sasuke snuck through the shadows, taking note of all movement and noises he heard. Though he doubted he would be caught, he wasn't so sure about the others. They weren't as experienced in this area as he was, and if any of them failed so did he.

He really didn't want to have to spend more than four years locked away.

Thinking back to when Edena had asked if anybody wanted to leave, he wondered why he hadn't raised his own hand.

Did he want to stay, deep down?

Sasuke sensed somebody watching him from behind and instinctively dove for cover. It wasn't an ANBU, that he was sure of.

He slowly peeked from his hiding spot to examine the area his little spy was taking cover in.

_I was sure I felt somebody there..._

-meanwhile-

Sasuke turned around just as Edena rounded the corner. Was he already on to her?

She decided to keep her distance. Even though her chakra was concealed, he could still sense her nearby. That boy sure was something.

When Sasuke seemed to have dismissed his follower, Edena dove underground.

She could manipulate the movement of pure earth, allowing her body to swim through it as if it were made of water. It was a technique she had picked up from the first body she overtook under Orochimaru's experiments.

Using her sensory type abilities, she located his chakra and began observing him once more.

She had already retrieved the items she was asked to, and was now keeping watch over the teenager.

She didn't really care about what food was given to her at the DC; she had endured worse things.

The food retrieval plan was just a ruse to see if Sasuke could resist the temptation of being able to leave, and so far he was doing well.

Whether he was loyal to Konoha or hadn't anywhere else to go, it was clear the Uchiha wouldn't be going anywhere.

But she was going to follow him for the rest of the night, just to be safe. Her freedom was on the line.

Sasuke stopped outside of a local produce store. Edena figured it was so he could pick up the fruit he needed, and waited for him outside.

Suddenly, a siren rang throughout the village, echoing off the walls and making it's way to her ears. Edena spotted an exploding paintball in the sky.

_Crap, we've been found out!_

She clambered from her hole in the ground and started running away. She glanced over her shoulder to see if Sasuke had left yet. He hadn't.

"What the hell is he doing?" she yelled at herself, frustrated. If he got caught, the time everyone gained would be on her shoulders.

She jogged to a halt and turned around. He still hadn't left. Cursing her luck, she regained her previous pace and headed back to the produce store.

"Sasuke, we have to leave, stat!" She burst through the door, latching onto his arm. Or, at least, she thought it was his arm. Pulling the thing along with her, she escaped through the glass doors, followed by an avalanche of orange's.

Scanning the shop through the display window, she couldn't locate the Uchiha.

_Where is that idiot at a time like this?_

-here he is-

As soon as he had heard the alarm, he deactivated his shadow clone near the produce store he'd sent after some tomatoes and ran for cover. The nearest thing he could see was a giant tree overlooking a small park.

An ANBU spotted him and alerted the rest on his squad before he could hide.

Crouching in the deep green leaves, he tried desperately to catch his breath. Hopefully they hadn't seen where he'd gone.

He strained his ears to see if he could eavesdrop on their conversation.

"The Uchiha has escaped... the gates..."

That was all he heard before he felt the grip on his shoes slip. He was going to fall straight into the open, with approximately four ANBU on his trail.

He held his breath, glancing at the ground below him.

He gasped.

Sakura was sitting on the bench below him, listening to the conversation taking place also.

_Crap, why did it have to be her?"_

It was too late to run. He pulled his cloak from his shoulders right before he landed on the park bench. Throwing the material over them both, he pulled her close.

"Sasuke!" she breathed.

"Stay quiet, follow my lead!" he threw one arm around her shoulders and lay his head on hers.

She stiffened at the contact, and the Uchiha heard her heartbeat quicken. Was she really that scared of him?

Sasuke focused on the ninja searching for him. They were slowly approaching, each of their steps bringing them closer to his potential doom.

"Over here!" a woman yelled. Sasuke's own heart skipped a beat. His stomach knotted as his grip on Sakura tightened. She was about to say something, when his hand quickly covered her mouth.

They were almost directly to the right of the Uchiha, when a loud cry came from a nearby tree.

"Come and get me, bitches!" The voice was low and coarse, just like his own.

He smiled. _Thanks, Edena._

The ANBU cried to chase him. Sasuke waited until they were out of hearing range before he let go of the unsuspecting kunoichi. Remembering she was there, he quickly turned to her.

"I'm sorry," he said, and put her to sleep with his Mangekyo Sharingan. That ought to take care of her.

-the next morning-

In the end, the only person that got into trouble was Edena.

Fumi had been forced to return after she was discovered. The remarkable thing was the fact that no one else was blamed.

Sasuke knew something wasn't right.

Edena wasn't at lunch. Nor did she appear in any classes that came later on. Every night he was feasting on his delectable stash of tomatoes, but he couldn't quite enjoy it.

He was finding it almost impossible to get her out of his mind. Was she okay? Where was she? What was going on?

He didn't pay any attention in the DC whatsoever. He hadn't noticed until then, but Edena made his life in prison more bearable.

The fact that she was gone... it was hell.

He had no idea why, but he missed her.

-end-

**Phew! Sore shoulder.**

**Please review to tell me what you think!**


	7. Seven: Punishment

**New Chapter! Yay!**

**Please please review *falls to knees and starts pleading*?**

* * *

"Explain yourself!" Ibiki snarled. They were in a black room, filled with terrifying images of Edena's past.

There was her mother, being stabbed then pushed off a giant cliff right before the eye's of her younger self. The many cries of young children, horrified by their clan's mere presence.

It was awful.

Tears ran down her cheeks, making a wet patch on her shirt. "P-please, just t-t-talk t-to Lady Tsunad-de-e!" It was far too hard to finish complete sentences.

"I will not bother the Hokage with such matters, for I do not need to. You will be telling me everything I need to know in due time."

The Yamanaka assisting the torture expert fished through her mind for more memories with a red glow. He could tell what kind of memory it was just by looking at the glow surrounding it as it floated in the large space that was every person's mind.

When he spotted one, he instantly activated it, sending the images to Ibiki who then projected them on the walls.

A young boy with short curly hair appeared. Her eye's widened. "No..."

The boy's eyes were filled with intense consternation as he witnessed his own sister being pulled apart, limb from limb. He screamed for Kabuto to stop, to let them go, but he knew what he wanted. The gray-haired man wasn't going to stop until he received inside information on the Leaf Village's defenses.

His sister tried to comfort him. "It's okay! I'll heal, this is nothing! You must not betray the Leaf," she tried to hold back a cry as he slowly inserted a scalpel into her stomach. "Never! Betray! Them!"

Edena couldn't help stand it. "_Okay!_ I'll tell you!"

Ibiki smirked. "Who else was working with you that night?"

"Nobody. I did it all by myself."

"You lie through your teeth," The Yamanaka wasn't able to find anything in her mind related to the escape plan, besides things she had done herself. It was as if she had erased selected parts of her mind, or perhaps hidden them in places impossible for someone of his caliber to locate.

"It is the truth," she tried desperately to close her eyelids, but a Shadow Possession had taken control of her movement. She had no choice but to relive the horrific events.

"Ibiki!" A Jounin interrupted his real body, waking him from the Genjutsu world he'd created.

"What is it?"

"Lady Tsunade wishes to speak with your current prisoner."

Ibiki blinked. "Are you sure?" He nodded.

Trying to hide his irritation and embarrassment, he immediately commanded the two ninja release their jutsu on the girl.

Edena panted and fell to the floor, sweat dripping down her face.

"Follow me!" Ibiki growled.

Two Jounin rank ninja escorted her numb, shaking body to the Hokage's even newer office.

The room was spacious and tasteful. Tsunade boasted on how she'd designed it herself.

She was in a good mood when they walked through the oak double-doors, which smelled strangely of pine.

"I apologize for Ibiki's rash behavior. Please, take a seat," she turned to face the scarred man. "Ibiki, please do not jump to the conclusion that you can treat any criminal as you please without my consent!" she snapped.

He left in a huff. She really didn't like it when ninja acted how they wanted or as they pleased in serious situations.

The Hokage was fully aware of the fact that this girl was capable of destroying the village, and intended on keeping her opinion of the area as positive as possible.

"Are you alright?" she asked, motioning for Shizune to give her some tea.

"What do you want?" Edena shivered. The poor girl was obviously shaken, far more than necessary for even a rogue ninja. Still, Tsunade did not appreciate her tone and lack of respect.

"Did Sasuke prove trustworthy?" the girl nodded. "I see."

_Has he really changed? I'm not so sure, especially since his Naruto's visit..._

"Can I leave now?" she asked with a little more edge to her voice, though it still sounded pathetic.

"Not just yet, I'm afraid. I would like you to go on a mission with them once you have fully recovered. I will be sure to provide you with more adequate conditions this time. I hope you can forgive Ibiki."

Edena sighed and sipped some of her tea, which Shizune had finished cooling off. She didn't know if she could spend more time with Sasuke now. They had only known each other for three months or so, and yet...

There was something about him.

Tsunade noticed the far away look in Edena's eyes. "Please let Kakashi escort you to your temporary apartment."

Said Jounin appeared beside her in a flash, reading some book.

"Well, let's go then," he said lazily, flipping the book shut and stuffing it in his weapon pouch.

Edena took one last glance towards Tsunade, then stood from her seat. She was still in shock; she hadn't thought about her brother in so long, forcing the memories of her dreadful past into the back of her mind. Somehow they had managed to plough their way back into her life, and with the worst timing.

If anyone knew about him, they could use her brother against her.

It was her one main weakness.

* * *

Sasuke tapped the end of his pen against his wooden desk. He had eaten a lush, ripe tomato before attending class that day, and the heavenly taste still lingered on his tongue.

He stared at Edena's empty seat. Where was she?

He pictured her in his mind like he had done so many times the night before, as he tossed and turned in the sheets covering his bed. He often stayed awake late thinking about things that bothered him.

Her soft, bouncy hair flowed effortlessly in a messy tangle from the roots of her head, framing her oval face. Her skin glistened in the sunlight he'd pictured surrounding her, and beautiful red lips sat above her chin.

He looked into her eyes. Whenever he did, he felt a strange feeling of nostalgia, though it wasn't pleasant. He wondered how something so perfect could bring on a gloomy feeling?

Those empty eyes, always searching for something...

Sasuke suddenly stopped breathing. That was what was so familiar about her! It wasn't that they had met before, no way.

The look in her eyes. Sad, misty, red as if endlessly crying. It was the way she looked.

The loneliness in her eyes. He had seen in countless times in his own reflection.

She understood.

* * *

Naruto tucked the gift wrapped in glossy red paper into his jacket further, so as not to attract roaming eyes. He felt so bad about the things he'd said to Sasuke, the boy felt compelled to mend his mistakes.

The thread that kept their friendship together was already so thin, it was barely visible. All it needed was one little push, a breeze even, and it would most likely fray or disperse.

He was NOT going to lose Sasuke again.

On his way to the DC, he observed an unmistakable masked ninja walking with a very pretty girl, in his opinion. They were walking really close together, the brown-haired woman clinging to his arm.

A sly grin crept onto his face, scrunching the permanent whiskers painted on his cheeks.

Was Kakashi sensei on a _date_?

He had to know.

He gradually moved to the other side of the street, making it absolute that their paths would cross.

"Hello there, Naruto."

The blond casually strode over to his teachers side. "Kakashi sensei! I didn't see you there," he laughed, running his fingers through his hair coolly. "What are you doing this fine evening?"

Kakashi cocked an eyebrow. "I was just escorting this young lady home."

"Oh ho! Really now?" he winked towards the girl, who stared blankly at the ground. She had tear marks running down her cheeks, stopping Naruto from continuing. "I mean, uh, please, don't mind me. I'm just off to see Sasuke."

The girl looked up. As their eyes met, Naruto felt something tug in his heart. Gazing into her eyes, he knew she felt incredulous pain.

"Oh really? Say hi from me. I was actually in a bit of a hurry, so..."

"Uh, no! Go right ahead!" He jumped out of the way, nearly knocking a magazine rack over.

"See you later."

Naruto watched them go until they were mere specks in the distance. That girl reminded him so much of himself, it was scary.

* * *

"Alright, you," Sasuke looked into the hole where two hate-filled eyes glared back at him. "you have a visitor, God knows why."

Naruto, head hanging in shame, shuffled through the door frame with his hands behind his back.

Sasuke lent back in his chair. This would be interesting.

"Um, hey, Sasuke," their eyes met momentarily, before the blond averted his gaze to the floor once more. Looking at the way he stared intently at the cold concrete, you'd think it held the meaning of all existence.

"Loser," Naruto didn't seem to be affected. He hardly noticed.

"I brought you something," he held a poorly wrapped red package in outstretched arms.

Sasuke sniffed. "I don't need your charity."

Naruto grimaced. Was he too late? Had the thread been cut?

A lone tear rolled down his cheek. Sasuke saw this, and felt a pain in his chest. Why did the idiot care so much about him? After everything, he still treated him like they were best friends.

"I-I... I'm sorry. For what I said, it was out of line."

The Uchiha sighed. "No. It was the truth." Naruto looked into the onyx eyes of his closest friend, the one he cared about just as much as the love of his life.

"I'm still sorry. I didn't mean it. Seeing Sakura like that..." his voice trailed up as his hands balled into fists.

Sasuke didn't know what to say. It wasn't everyday people consoled in him. He grumbled, then motioned for Naruto to sit on his bed. There was only one chair, and he currently occupied it.

Naruto brightened. He happily skipped to the plastic mattress and plopped onto it with a thud.

He slid the present onto Sasuke's pillow, just in case he changed his mind.

"So," he began. "how are things here? What do you do everyday?"

Sasuke stared at him blankly. Was he really trying to start a conversation that way?

"Er, fine? I don't do much." Naruto didn't pick up on the fact that this conversation didn't interest him. He was too happy about finally talking to him normally, like real friends. Like the old days.

"It must suck in here. I've been having a pretty stressful time myself, what with all the requests I've been getting. Being famous is tough work! I have to wear long coats in public, otherwise people will flock to me with autograph cards and stuff."

Sasuke sighed. "Yeah, it must be terrible to have hundreds of people adore you and accept you like a normal person without running away in terror or sending disgusted glares your way."

"Oh, it _is_," he drawled, clearly missing the thick sarcasm coating Sasuke's every word. "But it's much better than things used to be. Finally, people respect me and treat me like I'm somebody!"

Naruto grinned, resting his hands behind his head. How did that idiot ever get so famous? How did he even become such a great ninja?

Sasuke didn't deny the fact that Naruto had improved unbelievably. The kid was incredible.

Naruto noticed the awkward silence that filled the air. "So, uh, have you seen Sakura lately?" That really wasn't the best question to ask in that situation.

"No," he lied. The Uchiha had gotten very good at lying.

"Oh."

"Yep."

"You have?"

"What? No, I haven't."

"Oh."

Silence.

"So..." Naruto extended the word far more than necessary. "Hey, hey! Did you hear that you and some chick are coming with Team 7 on a mission again?"

Sasuke choked on the air. "_What?_"

* * *

Sai, Sakura and Naruto all waited by the open gates of the Leaf Village. Naruto was shaking with excitement.

Team 7 were finally going on a mission together!

It was the only thing he had envisioned ever since his friend left, and it was coming true! How could he contain his happiness?

On Sakura's mind was the same thing. Only she had more self control and wasn't screaming and jumping like a lunatic.

_Sasuke..._

Sai's mind was focused on less current things.

_I wonder what the baby of Anko and Kakashi would look like?_ He shuddered at the mental image. He would avoid the thought from then on.

Kakashi had a decent excuse for being late that day. Yes, he had stopped off at the KIA memorial firstly. The other reason he was late was due to his meeting with Sasuke and Edena, the girl he had met earlier.

After three additional hours, Sasuke, Kakashi and Edena all arrived at the rendezvous point.

Sasuke hadn't moved his eyes from the girl since they met up halfway there. Where had she been? Why was she here now?

Sakura didn't move her eyes from Sasuke, either.

Sai kept his gaze on the mysterious new girl. Two new additions the their squad was not necessary in his opinion.

Edena kept her focus on the ground, occasionally glancing towards Kakashi.

Naruto looked from Sakura, to Sasuke, then folling his gaze to the girl he'd seen with Kakashi earlier. Why was Sasuke staring at her? And why was Sakura _glaring_ at her?

Kakashi kept his eyes on the delicious story he was reading.

_Valerie ran her fingers through the woman's hair. _

_"We don't have to tell nobody. It can be our little secret..."_

Everyone was looking at someone, besides their sensei. Kakashi sensed tension in the air and watched as one teen scowled at another.

"What did I miss?"

* * *

**PLEASE review!**


	8. Eight: The Mission

**Eh, it seems I am only writing this for myself :(**

**Oh well, I like my story!**

**DISCLIAMER: I do not own Naruto. I do own all the OC's, though.**

* * *

Kakashi cleared his throat, hoping the noise would clear up the suspense.

"Today's mission is very important. Our failure will guarantee whether or not these two are released from the detention center they were occupying."

Only Edena and Sasuke cared about the last part.

Sakura, Naruto and Sai were all trying their best to smile, surprisingly Sai doing better than the other two.

"What _is_ the mission?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"I was getting there," he replied, "we are on our way to the Land of Waves; some rogue ninja have been attacking their barriers in search of an artefact they do not possess. Or, so they say."

"You don't believe them?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I have an inkling," he winked at her. She shuddered. "It is a B rank mission. It's a nice change from all the A rank one's you've been sent on. Everything has been so quiet ever since..." he mumbled the last part to himself.

He was actually very thankful towards his students. Never had he been so proud of anything in his life, including the raven-head. He wasn't as happy with the way the Uchiha turned out, but he came back all the same.

Kakashi brought himself back down to Earth with a glint in his eye. He wondered how Naruto would react to them all going on a mission together. Hadn't he always said he wanted team 7 to laugh together again, Sasuke included?

In fact, Naruto was overjoyed. Not only were they all going on a mission together again, they were going to the place of their very first A rank mission!

"Hey, Sakura," he nudged her in the elbow. She quickly released her stare on the brown-haired girl and turned her attention to Naruto.

"What?"

He grinned. "Remember Zabuza and Haku? They were in the Land of Waves, too!"

Sakura waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, cool."

Naruto frowned. Why wasn't she jumping for joy the way he was? Didn't she care about Sasuke going on a mission with them again? Granted, Naruto was jealous of the way Sakura was infatuated with him, but they were still best friends. And friendship always came first for him.

Meanwhile, Sai had started moving along with Kakashi, who was up ahead of the group. The pale boy took three swift steps to reach the Jounin's side.

"Is everything alright, Sai?"

He nodded. "Who is the other girl?" he motioned towards Edena.

Kakashi's gaze followed his outstretched palm. "Oh, her. She's hardly worth mentioning."

Sai nodded once more and fell back into pace with his teammates. He was particularly interested in Sasuke.

Sai was Sasuke's replacement for when he was gone at first, but Naruto had requested he stay on team 7 with them all, which Tsunade had agreed to rather quickly. But now that the Uchiha was actually with them, he wanted to know why everyone had tried so hard to bring him back. Surely there was a decent reason?

"Salutations, Uchiha." Sasuke slowly turned to face the pale ninja drifting towards his side. When he didn't answer, Sai decided to keep the conversation flowing. "How are you?"

He hesitated. "Er, fine."

"That's good. I am well, too."

Sasuke tried to fall behind, but Sai stayed with him. Honestly, he wasn't in the mood to make any more annoying, extremely loyal friends that day.

"What do you want?" he spat.

"I would like to get to know my comrade's better. Is it not easier to fight alongside someone you know a bit about?" he smiled a sort-of fake smile.

Sasuke didn't answer. Sakura noticed they were lagging behind and decided she wanted to talk to her old friend, too.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" she chimed in with half-hearted cheeriness.

"I was just getting to know your old friend, Sasuke Uchiha here," he slowly draped one arm around the Uchiha's shoulders and yanked him towards his chest. It hurt; Sai had recently gotten out of hospital with serious injuries around his left arm.

Sasuke sighed. He wasn't allowed to say anything or do anything that may hurt the others in any way, or forever hold his peace.

Kakashi would make sure of that. He'd attatched a shock collar onto his neck that was barely hidden behind the clothes he was wearing.

Sasuke was no longer wearing the prison uniform. Since the Uchiha compound had been destroyed in the fight between Pein and Naruto (and nobody was planning on building it again, mind you) there weren't any clothes with his clan symbol on them. So, he'd settled for a plain black singlet with black cargo pants, along with some bandaging from his wrists to his elbows. The seal for his shuriken was still intact-he seemed to have forgotten about all his other jutsu for a while, pointed out by good ol' Naruto-and he was planning on using if at some point if necessary.

Translation: He was planning on using it if his Mangekyo Sharingan failed, which was almost impossible.

After a couple of minutes of talking to Sakura, Naruto turned and saw that she had been with Sasuke the entire conversation.

_Ah! No wonder she didn't answer me._

"Hey, wait up, guys!" he ran back a bit to join the group. They were talking about random things, mostly Sai and Sakura, and laughing. _Laughing_.

Like the old days!

Naruto stopped and stared. He stared, and stared, while his best friends in the whole world laughed together about Sai's social retarded-ness.

Mind you, it was mainly Sakura that was laughing. But Naruto's recently developed skills of perception did not overlook the fact that Sasuke let out a small chuckle, smirking.

A lone tear fell from the corner of his eye, splashing onto the path below.

Sakura glanced over her shoulder to where Naruto had frozen "Hey, you coming?" she laughed.

His heart soared. "Yeah. I am coming," he giggled under his breath. Picking up his pace to stand besides Sai, he laughed along with his friends as they made their way to their first mission together.

"Finally."

* * *

"Are they coming?" a mysterious voice cackled from the shadows.

Kobo gasped. He hadn't even heard the man come in.

"They are on their way as we speak. Everything is set up for their capture.''

"And you are sure Sasuke is with them?"

"He is definitely travelling by their side."

Kabuto sneered. "Good..."

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Naruto groaned.

Kakashi felt like slapping him. You'd think that the Leaf's most prized ninja would behave properly in public.

"No, we are still waiting on the woman to return."

They were at the docks, where a small boat was going to take them to the Land of Waves. Apparently, a big storm was coming, and they weren't sure if the ninja's were going to be able to get across that day.

A slim woman with pale features stepped out of a small office with a slight frown on her lips.

"I'm sorry," she began, "but you won't be able to get there today. The storm is going to be huge. I recommend you find an inn to stay at for the night, preferably away from the coast. We'll pay, since you booked the boat."

Kakashi smiled, though it was only visible in his kind eye. "Thank you, but you don't need to do that. There is no hurry in getting there."

Naruto screeched. "What do you mean 'there's no hurry'? I thought there were enemies- WHA!"

Sakura hit him over the head, nearly knocking the poor teenager out.

"Don't mind him," Sasuke mumbled, "he has a serious mental condition. We were forced to bring him along."

The woman nodded in understanding. "I see."

Sakura cocked an eyebrow. He hadn't spoken the whole trip, and those were the first things he chose to say?

"Well, we'd best be off, then." Kakashi waved to the lady and brought the team to a medium-sized, high quality inn a couple hundred meters away.

"Sensei, she told us to get away from the coast." Sakura wailed in her high-pitched voice.

"I know. That storm gives me a strange feeling of suspicion, is all."

Sakura's eyes widened. Her perception of small and Kakashi's were in completely different leagues.

* * *

Everyone stood in the room with a slight blush tinting their cheeks. Kakashi had gotten to sleep in a single room, while everyone else had to sleep together in beds in the same room. It wasn't a big deal, they slept around each other all the time. It was the beds that were the problem.

"There are only three beds, and five of us," Sakura observed, watching Naruto pale.

They were right; there were two queen-sized beds, and one single. What kind of idiot had designed such a room was beyond them.

"So..." the blonde speculated.

"We'll have to share," Sasuke said bluntly.

The other four gulped.

"Not it!" Naruto yelled. Sai followed, not entirely sure what he was saying it for.

Sakura growled. "That's hardly fair! We should think about this logically."

"Well, Sai should get his own bed then, 'cos he just got out of hospital, right?" Naruto wondered out loud.

"Good point," Sakura motioned for Sai to sleep on the single bed in the far right corner.

The four other teens looked from one face to the other.

"Obviously the girls and boys should sleep together," Edena concluded quietly. Everybody instantly snapped their heads her way.

That was the first time they'd heard her speak, minus Sasuke and Sakura. She felt intimidated by all the glares, Sakura's mainly.

"Er, I mean, it would be weird for us to sleep with the opposite sex, right?"

The group nodded, though on the inside, some didn't agree.

_I wouldn't mind sleeping next to Sasuke,_ Sakura thought idly.

_I actually wanted to talk to her,_ Sasuke considered, _but I don't have to sleep with her to do that..._

_So... hungry..._ Naruto's stomach rumbled.

"Okay, that's all good! Let's go see if dinner is ready!" The blond raced through the door to find his sensei, while the rest of the group followed groggily.

Sasuke would have plenty of time to speak with Edena about her disappearance later.

* * *

"Sorry about that, you guys," Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck, slightly abashed, "I hope you don't mind?"

"Not at all," Edena smiled. She was talking much more now, having gotten over the trauma of the week before.

The crew ate in silence. Until Naruto chomped his first mouthful.

"Swo, fwhat's your woom wike, shenshei?" he spat bits of dumpling all over the gang.

"Please choose whether to eat or to speak," Sasuke glowered. Naruto swallowed.

"Hey, Sasuke! Are you glad to be on a mission with us again, also?"

Everyone turned to face him. "I, uh..." on the spot. Great.

Sakura sighed and refocused on her fruit. _Of course he doesn't want to be with us, idiot._

"Sure he is," Edena chirped, "he talks about you guys all the time." Sasuke's breath caught in his throat.

"Whoa, really?" Naruto beamed.

_Nice one_, Sasuke grimaced as the blonde glomped him.

* * *

Edena breathed the crisp night air through her nose, treasuring the taste of salty sea.

How long had it been since she'd seen the ocean? Too long.

"It's beautiful," a deep voice commented.

"It is," a familiar butterfly feeling churned in her stomach. His voice was so low it tickled.

Sasuke sat beside her. "Where were you?"

"Tsunade gave me a separate apartment."

"Why?"

Oops. What could she tell him?

"Huh, did you miss me or something?" the sadness in her voice overrode any intended sarcasm.

Sasuke's heart melted, and for the first time, he wanted to comfort someone. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

Sasuke laughed once. He knew, from experience, that 'I'm fine' is the most commonly told lie by women everywhere. He also knew they used it more often around guys.

"You can tell me, I want to help."

Edena stared into his onyx eyes. How she wished he could help. They both looked onward at each other for a while, until the Uchiha realized what he was doing and quickly looked at the roof tiles.

They were sitting on the roof of the inn, where the moonlight shining off of the ocean was most visible.

"You don't have to tell me," he tried to make his voice sound huskier, and less compassionate.

"Fine, I won't," she mimicked his change of attitude.

They both watched the ocean ripple false movements of the moon's reflection.

"Do you like Sakura?"

Sasuke froze. Why would she want to know that?

"No. Why?"

"You act like you do. I recommend you don't lead her on."

"Hn," he shuffled further from her, resting his back on a brick chimney.

"Thanks for saving my ass before," he muttered just loud enough for her to hear, though she would have been able to anyway.

"Eh, I knew you'd need it."

What an annoying girl.

* * *

**Please review!**


	9. Nine: The Yellow Patch

**Hey all!**

**Thankyou to Shifuni, Sakura of Konaha, FA113N ANG31 and Rina Skinney for your reviews and support.**

**ALSO, read Sakura of Konaha's stories, they = EPIC PWNAGE.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, but I do own all the OC's.**

* * *

Sai slowly stretched his shoulder out beside him, releasing his tense muscles after hearing a satisfying 'pop' sound.

He was currently alone in the room. Feeling the need to fill in his time rather than waste it doing nothing, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a book he'd borrowed from the local library at Konoha.

_**Women, And How To Survive Them.**_

His interest was instantaneously peaked when he read the title, suddenly remembering the countless times Sakura had beaten helpless men to a pulp for reasons she really could not justify. Naturally, after reading the brief description on the back cover, he thought it was necessary to read up on this type of knowledge for future reference.

_**Chapter One: Recognising Personalities**_  
**There are three types of maniacal women.**  
**The first type are those that bottle up all their anger, stuffing it recklessly into the back of their hearts until, finally, the walls of the box they are sealed in give way and you get random explosions of rage.**

_That doesn't sound like Sakura_, he decided.

**The second are the women that play with your mind and emotions, tampering with all of your weaknesses with temptation and taunting you in general. This is the most common syptom of 'maniacalism', as I like to call it, in the women of this generation.**

_That isn't fitting, either_, he thought, chewing on the end of his thumb-nail follicle.

**Finally, you have the least common crazy lady, which is the one that will take out her anger on anything and everything she can get her hands on straight away. The only emotions they bottle up are the less troublesome ones, such as happiness. It is usually generic, and often occurs in kunoichi (female ninja) with certain chakra types.**

_That certainly does resemble her, but I wouldn't say she is as extreme..._

Just then, Sai's ears detected a high-pitched scream coming from the east side of the inn.

Ninja reflexes kicking in, he swiftly ran towards the direction of the sudden commotion. He flung a door open, kunai in hand, only to come across Sakura herself beating a blonde girl into the linen floor with a frying pan.

"Sakura, what are you doing to the poor girl?" Sai questioned, slightly confused as to why she would stoop so low as to hit a defenceless lady staying at an inn.

"She paused to yell directly at the pale boy. "This girl you speak of is Naruto! He was spying on me in the hot springs!" She continued to hit him repeatedly over the head, ignoring the pleas barely escaping the mouth of 'Naruto'.

Sai thought for a moment. _Yes, she is definitely the third one._

* * *

_"Ew_, that's really gross, Sai!" Naruto grimaced when Sakura ripped the sheets off his bed, following the fowl stench they had all just noticed at lights-out.

"That wasn't there before..." he mumbled, plugging his nostrils.

"Yeah, because you peed in it while we were all out. That's sick, man," Naruto gagged, as if he had a right to call someone else disgusting.

"Back off, Naruto!" Sakura commanded. She left for the front reception to notify the staff of the mysterious yellow patch in the middle of Sai's bed.

When she returned with a maid and some clean sheets, the other teens had opened some windows to air out the room. The walls reeked with the stench of urine.

"Oh, my," the woman clasped a hand over her mouth and hurriedly took the sheets to the washing room. "I beg your pardon, I'll be right back with some air-freshener and disinfectant."

The teenagers' eyes followed the portly woman through the door frame, then flicked back to stare at each other.

"Wait... now we have one less bed!" Naruto yelled unnecessarily loud, which earned him a slap over the head from everyone's favorite cherry blossom. His head, unfortunately for him, was still throbbing from her attack earlier, increasing the effect.

Sai watched her do this, remembering the passage he had read from the book before. Naruto could take those hits presumably because of the Nine Tailed beast sealed within him. That meant that the pale boy was more vulnerable than her personal punching bag, and therefore he would need to know how to avoid getting hit by her.

Making a mental note to finish the book off when he had time, he slowly stood from where he las leaning on the windowsill and walked out of the room.

"Where are you going, Sai?" Sakura called out.

"I'm going to tell Kakashi-sensei about this unfortunate event, so that he may help us come to a reasonable conclusion to our predicament."

She nodded, sitting against the wall in a huff. It was then that she noticed Sasuke wasn't there.

"Hey, Naruto, where's Sasuke?"

The blond was still stuck in an impression she had made of him in the floor. Slowly peeling himself from the concrete beneath the soft carpet of their room, he turned a bruised and mangled face to look at her.

"How should I know?" he shrugged. He had a habit of getting over her strange outbursts of rage pretty fast.

She made a concerned humming noise under her breath, something she only did when she was either mad or in deep thought. Naruto had learnt it was best not to stick around when he heard this rumbling sound, so he babbled out that he needed the bathroom and escaped as quickly as possible.

Sai returned with a sleepy Jounin trailing by his side.

"Where is everyone?" he asked drearily.

"I dunno," Sakura growled. The kunoichi had just noticed that the new girl wasn't among them, either.

Kakashi thought it best not to ask and went to examine the beds.

"Hm, well, Sai will have to get his own bed, due to his injury..." he scratched his chin thoughtfully with the end of his forefinger. It wasn't just the surface of Sai's mattress that had been soaked in waste; every layer was affected. Whoever - or whatever - had wet this bed certainly had a big bladder.

Regardless of where the piss had come from, the sleeping arrangements still remained a problem. Kakashi's own bed was a king size, and he didn't mind sharing, as long as he could get a decent night's sleep. That meant Naruto was out of the picture, since he'd forgotten his earplugs in the rush of the morning.

He could share with Sasuke. The two girls would share, Sai could have his own bed... but where did that leave Naruto?

That meant that, however things were arranged, boys and girls would mix that night.

And it was up to him to decide who would have to do just that.

* * *

A comfortable silence hovered between the two. It was amazing how close they'd gotten so fast, considering the fact that Sasuke didn't open up easily to people.

His ability to act normal around her astounded even himself.

There was something that bothered him still, though. "Are you okay?" he asked hesitantly.

"I already told you, I'm fine."

He chuckled, but it wasn't from amusement. It was an empty, hollow sound. "That's not what I meant."

He inched closer to Edena's side, forcing her to look at him. There was no emotion behind his eyes as he stared on ahead.

"W-what did you mean, then?"

One of his hands slowly drifted up to his chest, clutching the region his heart was held. He took a deep breath before he began. "When I was just young, my clan was destroyed by my older brother. You must know this, right?" she nodded. Who didn't know that? "When they left me, I was so scared and lonely. I didn't know what I was going to do. My heart was shattered into a million pieces, and my mind was blurred. It didn't seem real."

Edena didn't know where this was going, but she listened intently. Never had she heard him speak so much, even if it was still in a monotone.

"After a while, twisted thoughts of revenge and my brothers death began to take over who I once was, consuming me. Because of that, I ended up killing him, making me even lonelier than before."

"Wait a minute," her voice broke in softly, "I thought you hated him?"

"That was before I knew everything he had done for me. For the village he loved."

His eyed fell from the ocean to where his hand clasped the fabric of his shirt. Edena saw a flicker of sadness in his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had come.

"I'm sorry," she tried to console him.

"Don't be. If I had never been through all of this confusion and heartbreak, I would have never seen the light at the end of the tunnel. I wouldn't have been able to listen to Naruto, or come back to the village," Edena gasped. His voice had more passion in it than before. "Though my heart has been stitched together again by all of these things, I still feel the pain. I know now that, even if a heart heals, the scars will always be there. Loneliness is the most horrible experience anyone could possibly feel, and every time I see families and friends laughing together, stabbing pains shoot right here," he pointed towards his heart.

Edena felt as if she were going to cry. "I-I..."

"It's okay. I'm telling you all of this for a reason," he looked her in the eyes, completely serious. "I know you have felt the same loneliness I have. I can see it in your eyes."

She gasped once more, a lump slowly forming in her throat. How could he know, just by looking in her eyes? Could it be that the eyes were truly the window to the soul? If so, was she making her weakness obvious?

Her hands began trembling, and without even realizing it, she had broken down into uncontrollable sobs. She took quick breaths in and out, trying to stop herself, but it was no use. The ugly cry released itself upon her, making her choke out hideous noises resembling that of a dying walrus.

"I-I'm s-so-sorry-y..."

He draped an arm around one of her shoulders. "It's okay, let it out."

His sudden kindness caught her off guard once more. She screamed, burying her face in his shoulder. His face remained apathetic, yet inside he was feeling elated. It felt good to be nice to people.

They sat there together for nearly twenty minutes. Edena's wails eventually fell to whimpers, and Sasuke helped her to her feet.

"We should get back, they are probably looking for us," even though his voice and face were indifferent, she felt the way he cared.

A smile crept its way onto her face, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thanks so much, buddy."

She punched his arm and he grunted, mumbling something about her being a nuisance.

That day marked the starting point of their true friendship.

* * *

Kakashi watched the two jump from the roof into the patio, then make their way inside. It was discreet, but it was there; Kakashi could see the relationship between them slowly forming into something strong.

It surprised him to see Sasuke, of all people, comforting the girl.

_Perhaps he truly has changed_, he thought. Even so, it was uncharacteristically compassionate of him to do something so nice... it seemed suspicious. Did he have some ulterior motive?

That was just a side-note. The problem he was focusing on was the issue of the bed-wetting mishap.

He knew that Sai would need to sleep alone. That left two vacant beds, and five sleepy ninja's.

He knew he couldn't let Naruto sleep with Sakura - he'd learnt his lesson the last time - but he didn't want to leave Sasuke with two, hormonal teenage girls, either. They were bad enough around that kid as children...

So, it was decided. He was going to sleep with the two girls, and Sasuke and Naruto were going to sleep together.

He jumped down from his observation spot in the large backyard tree to let them know of his arrangements.

Upon his arrival inside, he was greeted by loud shrieks and squeals from none other than Naruto.

_What are they up to, now?_

Knowing he'd regret it later, Kakashi peeped through the slightly ajar door to lay eyes upon Naruto shivering in the far left corner, Sasuke shooting daggers at Edena.

"It's NOT true, Naruto! Sheesh!" he yelled, which startled Sakura. She was slightly pale, and her knees looked as if they would give way any moment.

"That's what you just told me, Sasuke!" Edena shouted indignantly.

"I did not, were you even paying attention?"

Kakashi didn't know if he should intervene or sit back and enjoy the antics of the young teenagers.

"I was! Only a gay guy would be that nice, y'know," the brown-haired girl folded her arms and stuck up her nose. Sasuke looked as if he were about to explode.

Yeah, he should probably intervene.

* * *

Kabuto snickered as the shinobi cowered in fear before him.

It felt good to be in charge, even if it was only going to be for a while longer.

"W-we'll go as soon as you l-like!" one of them whimpered.

"You will leave at dawn. Remember, bring Sasuke back _alive, by any means necessary._ I'm sure you all read the profiles I gave you?"

The leader nodded so fast, Kabuto was sure his head would fall off its hinges.

"T-the girl right? W-we n-need her t-too?"

"Yes," he said nonchalantly, "but she can be dead. I don't mind."

The men shivered as his cold glare fell over them. "Well? Leave!"

"Yes sir!"

_Soon, Lord Orochimaru,_ he thought dreamily, _soon you will be revived!_

_

* * *

_**Eh, review?**

**And remember to go visit Sakura of Konaha!**


	10. Ten: Restraints

**Mmk, so, where was I? Ah, right, the sexuality problem. **

**DISCLAIMER: amaranteotaku-chan does not own Naruto, mmkay?**

**By the way, I'm going to tell you that for some reason I have started an obsession with the words 'yosh', 'mmkay' and 'nod'. As in, the nodding of one's head.**

* * *

Kakashi's head was throbbing by the time Sakura had managed to quiet the blond idiot down. She had recovered quickly from Edena's accusation, apparently not believing one such as herself.

She was still super pissed, though.

"How would you know anything about Sasuke's sexuality?" she questioned, hands on hips.

The brown-haired kunoichi rolled her eyes, mimicking Sakura's posture. "Please, how else can you explain his otherwise homosexual behavior?"

She flushed. "He is_ not_ gay!"

Edena smirked in victory. "That wasn't a very convincing justification."

Sakura glared at the girl. Who did she think she was? Sakura had known Sasuke way longer than she had, of course she would have been able to tell if he was gay or not.

"Alright, that's enough, you two," Kakashi interjected before things could get physical. He turned to Sasuke, raising a questionable eyebrow.

"What?" he barked hotly. He didn't exactly enjoy having his sexuality questioned so bluntly.

"_Are_ you gay?"

Sasuke growled, clearly peeved by the awkward situation.

Meanwhile, Naruto was cradling himself in a fetal position in the far left corner. It couldn't be true. Could it? NO. There was no way Sasuke was gay. But what if...?

_Oh my god. No wonder he kissed me!_

The argument that was sure to break out any moment between sensei and student was postponed, due to unfathomable noises escaping the mouth of the blond.

It truly is strange to discover that, in this time of enlightenment, Naruto could only recall something that happened accidentally. Over three years earlier.

Becoming increasingly bothered by her teammate's embarrassing display, Sakura proceeded to hit Naruto multiple times over the head to shut him up.

"Stop it, he isn't gay! And even if he were, what would whining incessantly do to change that?"

Sasuke glowered at her. "I am NOT gay," he tried to reassure them.

Sakura blushed a little. "I know, I just said that!"

The raven-head snarled, not wanting to admit to that. He was just really aggravated by the fact that Edena had said he was gay. I mean, wouldn't you be mad if someone doubted your sexuality publicly?

Naruto shivered slightly. "I dunno..." he began.

Sasuke charged at him, lifting him off the floor by his shirt collar. "What was that?"

"Don't get so close, pervert!" That did it.

The Uchiha punched him square in the jaw, causing a breakage in his skin. Suddenly, his entire body became immobile, leaving him stunned on the floor.

He tried desperately to move, resulting in him flopping around like a fish out of water. Sakura, Naruto and Edena rushed to his aide.

"Sasuke, are you alright?" Sakura grimaced as his hand broke into spasms. She mustered all her chakra into her palm, intending upon healing him, but was stopped by a stern hand.

"That won't help him," Kakashi said. Sakura flinched when she heard him groan. Sasuke's sudden jerking fell to a halt, and the three worried teens relaxed.

"What was that, Kakashi-sensei?" Edena asked, her voice one octave higher than usual.

"Calm down, you guys," he shrugged, "safety measures."

Sakura stood, outraged. "What do you mean,_ safety measures_?"

Sasuke was now laying still on the ground, panting. His body was numb, and every inch of him was tingling unpleasantly.

"Lady Tsunade wasn't sure whether or not we could trust him or not, so during his treatment after your fight against Madara, she slipped a microchip into the back of his neck. Using knowledge acquired through the Hyuga clan, we are now able to determine the nature of someone's chakra mixed with their emotions. Based on this, the microchip activates static electricity through Sasuke's body whenever his rage reaches a certain limit."

Naruto finally recovered, standing to back Sakura up. "How is he supposed to fight, then?"

Kakashi smiled, though it was invisible through his mask. "Oh, I can turn it off when that time comes."

Naruto and Sakura's expressions remained, whereas Edena was still staring at her friend, gob-smacked.

Sai had been observing the event unfold, leaning against the furthest wall. He had tensed when Sasuke began twitching, but other than that, he'd remained stoic in his corner of the room, minding his own business.

Sasuke suddenly found his voice, choking as he sat up.

Sakura returned her attention to healing him, which actually did help, despite Kakashi's words. Before she could fully heal him, he pushed her hand away and jumped to his feet, growling.

Kakashi readied himself for an attack, though it was unnecessary. Sasuke wasn't about to start a fight he didn't want to finish, however, and stormed out of the room wordlessly, Sakura trailing behind.

Naruto followed, feeling it was slightly his fault for provoking his friend's anger. Of course he wasn't gay, how could he doubt his friend's words?

Edena watched them go, her hands clutched at her sides. A lone tear rolled down her cheek.

It was just like that day, so long ago... but not at the same time. She shook her head furiously.

_Quit being a baby, you're overreacting!_

But regardless of how many times she had told herself that in the past, she always froze up.

It made her feel so... worthless.

* * *

Sasuke wasn't surprised. He knew that Konoha wasn't going to trust him instantly, and had been suspicious when they'd all acted like it was fine. Now he knew why, because if he tried anything he'd be shocked.

He wondered if everyone knew about the microchip? He wouldn't put it past those bloody village elders to persuade Tsunade into something like that. It was as if she couldn't make her own decisions.

Yes, the Uchiha was still holding a grudge against the remaining village elders, Tsunade's advisors. He had planned on killing them when he first got back, but after recent events, decided against it. Without realizing it, he'd actually really missed the Leaf Village.

He was born there, his clan was built there, all his friends lived there. If only he had known the truth about his brother earlier, he would never have gotten mixed up in all the revenge crap... even if he still aspired to kill certain people.

He regretted everything, so much.

Sakura's sweet voice broke his thoughts. He was leaning against the fence around the porch, his chin cupped in his hand. She stood next to him, the icy night wind whipping her pink locks against her cheeks. Her emerald eyes were filled with concern.

"S-Sasuke?" she stopped when she saw his eyes. They were... empty. Nothing. There was no emotion behind his expression at all. She suddenly felt overwhelmed with pity.

How sad it was when one couldn't even acknowledge his own feelings.

She sighed, locking her gaze on her shoes. She traced and re-traced the outline of the floorboards, when the silence was interrupted.

"Uh, guys?" Naruto glanced from Sasuke to Sakura, not sure why they were both so quiet.

Sakura jumped, her heart pounding. She didn't even notice him. "Idiot, don't sneak up on me like that."

He giggled sheepishly. "Oh, sorry," he turned to Sasuke, "you okay? That was crazy back there. I can't believe Grandma Tsunade would do that, when we get back I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind!" He punched his fist into the air above their heads.

"Don't."

Both Sakura and Naruto looked towards the Uchiha.

"Why not? That isn't right for them to do that to you," Sakura noted, folding her arms.

"Shut up, both of you." Silence.

"What the hell, you jerk!" Naruto yelled, thumping his fists on the veranda. Sasuke barely turned his way.

They both stared at each other, one of them in disbelief and the other irritation.

"It'd not like it matters. Besides, it's reasonable."

Naruto didn't say anything for a while, and Sasuke had to check if he was still there over his shoulder. Then, he laughed. Only once. Followed by several more chuckles. The Uchiha glared at him, causing the sound to die down a little.

"What is it?" he spat.

Naruto sighed, wiping away a stray tear. He was... crying?

"Sasuke," his voice was eerily serious. Said Uchiha couldn't help but ogle at him. "I searched for you, for three whole years. Non-stop. You were the main reason I kept trying."

He gasped. The blond continued, "do you really think I did that just to see you suffer all this punishment? No. I did it because you are like a brother to me. And even though I haven't ever had a real family, I know that this is how it feels, because whenever I see you get hurt, I could cry."

Sakura nodded in agreement. That was how she felt, too. Naruto grinned. "Just like with Sakura, you are my friend, Sasuke. And anyone who knows me understands that I am extremely loyal to my friends."

"Painfully loyal," Sakura added with a sad smile. It was an admirable virtue, though it had caused him so much pain in the past, some of it on her account.

Sasuke didn't understand. Hell, he couldn't understand. Naruto's words made their way to his mind, but had somehow messed up the clogs spinning in there. It just... didn't make sense. Why go so far for someone that isn't family?

It had to be a Naruto thing.

Regardless, he slowly broke his gaze away from his deep-blue eyes and looked up at the stars. He thought about everything Naruto had ever done for him. Yes, it didn't make sense. Why had he done all those things for him? Surely Naruto didn't really think of them as _brothers_. Sasuke knew he had never thought of Naruto as his brother.

"Hn," he replied, then skulked back inside.

* * *

Sai relaxed on the double-bed all to himself.

Kakashi was busy scribbling down some sort of diagram, and was too caught up in his own thoughts to say anything. So, being bored, the pale boy pulled out his sketch-pad and started doodling, mostly memories of when he was younger.

The Jounin examined his plan with a content sigh.

**Sakura + Edena + Kakashi = 1 bed, king.**

**Sasuke + Naruto = 1 bed, double.**

**Sai = 1 bed, double.**

_There, that'll have to do,_ he thought, tucking the small paper into his weapons pouch and pulling out _Makeout Tactics._

"Hey, uh, sensei?" Naruto whispered from the bathroom, motioning for his teacher to come closer.

Sasuke, Sakura and Edena had all gone to get ready for bed, going to their respective bathrooms.

Kakashi complied, dragging his worn-out body to the requested location. "What is it, Naruto?"

The blond blushed, and tried his hardest to avoid Kakashi's eyes. "I, um... about the whole 'sleeping togther' thing..."

The Jounin smiled. He knew where this was going. "Worried about sleeping in the same bed as Sasuke, hm?" Naruto wailed, flailing his arms in every direction.

"I-I, um... it's not like I doubt him or anything, but seriously, if you think about it it kinda makes sense! So many of the things he's done point to GAY!" Kakashi laughed, but there was no entertainment behind it.

"I understand. I also have my doubts, believe it or not."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Really?" his sensei nodded. "I know I shouldn't, but it's just hard to sleep with - next to - him after Edena said that."

Kakashi frowned. It did raise a problem, because if Sasuke really was straight and he made him sleep with two teenage girls, then he may regret it later, not that he'd expect Sasuke to do something like that. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more making Sasuke sleep in the same bed as the girls made sense. Since there was no way Naruto would be sleeping with them, and he didn't feel all to comfortable sleeping with a gay, hormonal teen himself.

"Alright, I guess it's settled then..."

* * *

Sakura felt the blood drain from her face, leaving her as pale as a ghost. It couldn't be. How could Kakashi _do_ that to her?

"Sasuke is going to sleep with us?" Edena scoffed. She had made up the whole gay thing, knowing the guy was straight as an arrow.

She'd taken notice of the fact that really good friends tended to make fun of each other, and then laugh about it or act likes it's a fun thing to do. The brown-haired kunoichi figured doing that to Sasuke would seal their newly established friendship.

Kakashi nodded. "Is that okay with everyone?"

Edena nodded. Sasuke glowered at the man once again.

"Is this because you think I'm gay?" his voice wasn't as threatening as before, having learnt his lesson.

"Partly," Kakashi droned, "and partly because Naruto isn't comfortable sleeping in the same bed as you."

Naruto threw his hands up to cover his face instinctively, then shuffled his feet on the floor. He received glares from all three of the others.

"Well sorry for worrying about my purity!"

"That's disgusting, you loser!" Sasuke yelled.

"I know, that's why I don't want you to sleep with me!"

Sasuke growled, smirking. "I wouldn't sleep with you if my life depended on it, moron!"

The two scowled at each other. You could almost see the static between their stares.

Sakura was glued into place, her eyes distant. She was trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was going to be sleeping right next to the man she had loved for nearly her whole life, and was now trying to _befriend_. It was hard enough for her to act normal around him again, and the whole being-next-to-each-other-all-night thing hadn't been on her friend making checklist.

Kakashi mumbled to himself, grabbing his pillow. He was going to need some earplugs if he was going to get any sleep at all, so he left the two teens to sort out their differences using good 'ol violence. Mainly because Sasuke couldn't do anything about it.

* * *

**Good job, you finished the chapter!**

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	11. Eleven: Unveiling

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.**

**I really like this chapter, it's mostly Sakura's POV and Edena's… but mostly Sakura's.**

**So yeah.**

**

* * *

**

Sakura finished brushing her teeth just when Edena walked through the door. Her eyes were red and puffy, and streaks from running tears trailed her cheeks. Edena had been crying.

Sakura tried not to take notice of her, drawing her attention towards her toiletry bag. She rummaged through the stacks of tissues, moisturizer and concealer (which Ino had given to her for her birthday) before finally grasping the familiar sleek form of her face wash. She thought about giving one of the tissues to Edena, but thought otherwise when it was clear she wasn't going to say anything. Sasuke followed slowly, carrying a toothbrush with him.

The pink-haired kunoichi dampened her face, applying the cleansing mixture to her skin, allowing the cool feeling to captivate her momentarily. She had always secretly adored the feeling of body creams, something she had never told anyone due to her own embarrassment.

Edena stayed silent, slowly bringing her comb downwards in an attempt to tame her wild, wavy hair. Unsuccessfully, might I add. That was probably because she was feeling pretty shaken after seeing Sasuke flailing around on the floor, almost as if he had no control over his own body. The spasms…

Sasuke leant against the wall, waiting for the girls to finish. He didn't mid the silence. He actually thought they weren't talking because they thought he was gay.

Sakura watched Edena for a few brief seconds, trying to avert her eyes from the dazed teen beside her. What had gotten into her? She had been pretty quiet the entire time, not like when they first met. As a matter of fact, Edena had been quite irritating back then. She was suddenly so still, or maybe sad?

But it wasn't her business. It wasn't her problem. Sakura had some pretty complicated things on her own plate, and despite her kind heart, she really couldn't deal with anybody else's worries. Still, it was hard to see another girl her age acting so distraught. Why was she crying in the first place? Was it because of the incident earlier with Sasuke? Did she share the same feelings with this strange new girl about the Uchiha?

She shook her head, something that didn't go unnoticed by Edena. How could she be thinking like that? She was trying to be friends with Sasuke, anyway, so what did it matter if another girl liked him? Knowing the raven-head, it wasn't like he would return the same feelings. He never did.

Sakura noticed Edena staring at her. "What is it?"

Edena shrank back slightly, making her feel guilty. "N-nothing, you just seemed very deep in thought for someone washing their face."

Sakura flushed, forcing a sweet smile onto her lips. "Ha, oh, yeah. It's nothing, I'm just tired."

Yes, she was tired. Tired of all the complications she faced, day by day. Edena sensed that conversation wasn't appropriate at that time.

Sakura laughed once, making the other two cast her strange glances. Curse the way of the ninja; she had been raised to be cautious always, never letting her guard down. Always suspicious of every little thing. Although, Kakashi had said that suspicion was usually caused by something other than paranoia, something that may or may not really be there.

She rolled her eyes at herself in the crystal-clear mirror. "You truly have become a ninja, haven't you?" she giggled, flicking a stray hair back into place. The act reminded her that she needed to brush her hair, to get rid of any excess dirt that would have surely gotten stuck in her locks while racing through the trees. She picked up her hairbrush and ran it through her hair.

She had gotten into a sort of routine when it came to her hair care. First, she would brush the right side. Then the left. After that, she had to apply a special mixture conjured up one day by her and Hinata in the experimentation lab at the hospital, which had given one lucky rat some very smooth hair. That was one of the only times she had ever really clicked with the Hyuga heiress. Hinata wasn't very good with people, Sakura figured, with the way she was always fidgeting and stuttering in large groups.

She wasn't obsessed with her hair or anything. Not like she had been when she was younger, anyway. Always fretting over her looks, becoming distressed over a minor blemish or impurity that might rear its head. All for Sasuke, too.

She raised an amused eyebrow as she examined her hair. It had meant so much to her back then. She started to feel a little nostalgic, thinking about the days when she and Ino would have dumb fights over the affection of Sasuke Uchiha. She eyed the spacing-out raven-head through the safety of the mirror. When Ino had skipped giddily over to her one lunch break at the academy, gushing about the newfound fact that Sasuke liked girls with long hair, she felt so disgusted by her looks that she tried to use her father's hair growth formula to lengthen her own mane. She grimaced, remembering how she had been scolded. Sasuke made eye contact with her momentarily before Sakura jerked her head back to facing her own reflection.

What a fool she had been.

Sakura placed a hand on her hip, leaning on her left leg. In the Forest of Death during the Chunin exams, she had been so proud of herself when she cut her hair to save her friends. She felt so useful, that for once she was helping instead of slowing everyone else down. Even so, for months she was revolted by the mere sight of her short hair. It made her feel one step farther from making Sasuke hers, one inch lower down the mountain every girl was trying to climb to reach the top to his love.

_And still it would have to take a mountain for anyone to be good enough for him,_ she thought bitterly. Thinking back to when Edena and Sasuke had been smiling at each other in the detention centre though, she started to think otherwise. Edena had long hair…

Could it be true? Did he really prefer long hair over short?

Well, it didn't matter anyway. She didn't want him to start liking her right when she decided she didn't need him anymore. Well, she did need him, but to be there for her as a friend. Just as she would do for him. It's not like Sasuke was looking for a relationship, and even if he was, she was sure he wouldn't be that shallow.

She furrowed her eyebrows a little bit. She was still a bit curious as to whether he had a hair penchant.

Sakura heard a low chuckle from behind her. Instantly, her hand froze in a tangle of her pink locks when Kakashi strolled in. He had that look in his eyes; the one when he was going to try and cover up a bad situation with dry humour. Naruto followed with a grim expression hiding behind his eyes.

Sakura gulped.

"Sorry to interrupt, I did knock but it seems you were too busy admiring yourself to realize," he said nonchalantly.

She blushed. "I wasn't admiring myself, simply getting ready for bed."

"I never did understand the point of that," he began. "I mean, you really aren't going anywhere, so why get all dressed up? Unless you already know the change of sleeping plans."

Sakura scowled, preparing a rude comment when she realized what her sensei had said. "What do you mean?"

His one visible eye drooped slightly, but the brief emotion passed like a flicker in a fire. "Well, here's the thing; I'm sure you already know all the unfortunate mishaps that have occurred have left only three beds to sleep in," he paused to examine her facial expression – which was completely blank – and continued, "well, I've decided that there is only one solution to this, unless someone is kind enough to give up their place on a comfy mattress. One boy will have to sleep with the two girls."

It was evident, simply by the contorted expression on Sakura's face, that she was imagining all the 'unfortunate mishaps' that could just as easily occur with this arrangement, some with more permanent results.

Kakashi took a deep breath, preparing for the verbal onslaught that was sure to come. "Sasuke will be sleeping with you and Edena."

Sakura felt the blood drain from her face, leaving her as pale as a ghost. It couldn't be. How could Kakashi do that to her?

"Sasuke is going to sleep with us?" Edena scoffed. She had made up the whole gay thing, knowing the guy was straight as an arrow. She'd taken notice of the fact that really good friends tended to make fun of each other, and then laugh about it or act likes it's a fun thing to do. The brown-haired kunoichi figured doing that to Sasuke would seal their newly established friendship.

Kakashi nodded. "Is that okay with everyone?"

Edena nodded. Sasuke glowered at the man once again. "Is this because you think I'm gay?" his voice wasn't as threatening as before, having learnt his lesson.

"Partly," Kakashi droned, "and partly because Naruto isn't comfortable sleeping in the same bed as you." Naruto threw his hands up to cover his face instinctively, then shuffled his feet on the floor. He received glares from all three of the others.

"Well sorry for worrying about my purity!"

"That's disgusting, you loser!" Sasuke yelled.

"I know, that's why I don't want you to sleep with me!"

Sasuke growled, smirking. "I wouldn't sleep with you if my life depended on it, moron!"

The two scowled at each other. You could almost see the static between their stares.

Sakura was glued into place, her eyes distant. She was trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was going to be sleeping right next to the man she had loved for nearly her whole life, and was now trying to befriend. It was hard enough for her to act normal around him again, and the whole being-next-to-each-other-all-night thing hadn't been on her friend making checklist.

Kakashi mumbled to himself, grabbing his pillow. He was going to need some earplugs if he was going to get any sleep at all, so he left the two teens to sort out their differences using good 'ol violence. Mainly because Sasuke couldn't do anything about it

"No…" she trailed off. Every inch of her suddenly felt weak. Sakura tried to clear her head. _What are you doing? Stop acting so childish, it's just sharing a place to sleep! _The inner Sakura cried desperately, _if you faint here you'll never live it down, let alone be able to be friends with Sasuke! Pull yourself together…_

She didn't need any more encouragement. Sakura knew her inner voice was right, and she would have to just grin and bear it like a true shinobi. She was all at once aware that Kakashi was keeping her steady from falling to the ground, shaking him off violently.

"I'm fine, sensei. That's okay, I don't mind," she tried to reassure him, and partly herself.

The Jonin narrowed his eyes, carefully inspecting his student. She clearly was _not_ fine, and was_ not_ okay with it all. He really didn't think she would respond this way. How could he be so ignorant towards her feelings? He felt a firm grip on his shoulder, raising his head to meet the gaze of two determined, pale-green eyes.

"Sensei, really. I'm a ninja, a Chunin of the leaf village. I've dealt with way worse things than this." She smiled wholeheartedly, something she hadn't done in far too long. Her cheeks felt tight and her lips cracked at the edges, but it was a real smile that she couldn't take away as easily as the fake ones.

Sasuke pouted. Was it really so bad to sleep next to him? Not that he cared.

"Okay then," the Jounin replied hesitantly, nodding in dismissal. Of course she could deal with it. She was grown up enough to be mature about the situation.

So he went to his bathroom clutching his pillow, preparing for bed, just in a simpler way than the Sakura had.

* * *

Sasuke was sitting on the side of the bed when she emerged from her bathroom. He had decided to leave Sakura there alone after Kakashi's announcement, forgetting about his own hygiene. It had taken her ages to pluck up the courage to leave the safety of its tile walls, something that was strangely reassuring to her, like a mother's hug. That was probably because Sasuke was on the other side of them, though.

Edena was sitting beside him, which made Sakura's stomach tighten. She grit her teeth, telling herself to stop being so childish. Trudging over to the other side of the mauve bed, she dropped her bag, eyeing Edena with chagrin. What Sakura didn't know was that Edena had been apologizing for her childishness, not making some sort of move on him.

Sasuke glanced at Sakura. She thought she could see a slight tint to his cheeks, but he had turned away too fast for her to be sure. It was probably just a trick of the light.

He cleared his throat, only succeeding to make the whole predicament more awkward. "I'll sleep on the floor," he stated. His tone suggested that this decision was non-negotiable.

"What? No, that's not fair!" Sakura protested, remembering his writhing form caused by that horrid microchip.

He grunted. "It's not like I need any special treatment."

Edena balled her hands into fists and stood defiantly beside Sakura. "Not after that, you need a good night's sleep!" Sakura was startled by the sudden burst of energy. The other kunoichi didn't like Edena standing next to her as if they were on some sort of team, but she couldn't complain when someone was agreeing with her. It was in her nature to allow as many people to back her up as possible.

Sasuke heaved a long sigh, as if he were dealing with a couple of rowdy children after a long day at work. "Shut up, I don't need your charity," he barked gruffly. It was clear he wasn't in the mood for an argument. It was also clear he didn't know _how_ to talk to children.

Sakura folded her arms. "Listen Sasuke, I'm going to feel guilty all night if you have to sleep on the floor like a dog," she cried hotly, alerting Naruto next door. He quickly ran to the room to see what the fuss was about, making his entry loud and proud, as always. He asked what was going on so flamboyantly that even the dead would be unnerved, turning in their graves. He really did have a shrill annoying voice. It's not like he needed to make it any louder than usual.

Sasuke winced as the sound reached his ears. Edena grimaced, as did Sakura. "Naruto, it's late," the latter hissed, "keep it down."

He rubbed his neck apologetically. "I could hear you guys through the wall, though, so shouldn't you quiet down a little also?" For some reason, it always seemed like whenever Naruto did something wrong it was ten times worse than when anybody else did it.

"Sasuke insists upon sleeping on the floor," Edena informed him patiently. She actually enjoyed the company of the rambunctious kid, even when he was being unnecessarily vulgar.

Naruto's voice became an octave lower, to their relief. "Wha! That's stupid, why don't you just sleep with the girls? I mean, you certainly need it after… that."

Said Uchiha groaned. They kept telling him he needed some peace, yet they refused to give him any. Darn Leaf Villagers. "It makes everyone uncomfortable," he reasoned.

Nobody could argue with that. Naruto definitely didn't want the bastard sleeping next to Sakura, even though it was his own fault he was… Sakura didn't feel like sleeping next to someone she had taken years to get over… and Edena was still innocent. Sleeping with guys was out of the question. Plus, Sakura intimidated the hell out of her. Regardless, it was unfair for him to have to sleep on the plain floor. Sakura was a lot of things, but she wasn't cruel.

"I'll sleep on the floor," she decided.

"That doesn't make any sense," Sasuke spat, trying to keep his temper under control. "It would defeat the whole purpose of separating the girls from the guy."

"Well it makes more sense than you having to sleep in cold, hard wood after having god-know-how-many volts of electricity coursing through your veins," she retorted, equally as irate.

"Why doesn't Sasuke sleep with Kakashi and I sleep here?" Naruto offered. The three remaining teens looked from one to the other, than answered with a short but firm "Hell no". Naruto sleeping with two girls? After spending years training under Jiraiya? Not likely.

Edena hummed quietly to herself, then she was struck by such an obvious solution, she could have slapped herself. "Wait, Kakashi has a couch, right?" Naruto nodded. "Well, how about we ask if we can borrow the cushions, then set up an area for one of us to sleep on. Then there will be more space between Sasuke and whoever else sleeps on the bed, and it's less weird." Sakura juggled the idea in her mind, thinking of the benefits. It did sound better than all three of them squishing together, getting in the others' personal space, and feeling their…

Yeah. It was better, alright.

"That's a good idea," Sakura acknowledged, "but who will sleep there? You or me?" Sasuke remained quiet. Partly because he was close to passing out on the spot, and partly because he didn't mind the idea, though it did puncture his pride.

Edena shrugged. "I will." Sakura bit her lip. She didn't want to make the other girl endure a restless night. On the other hand, she was being given the chance to sleep next to Sasuke. _Sasuke Uchiha_. Sure, they were going to be friends. But what was a harmless crush to a friendship, especially if it was a secret one?

"Okay," she smiled, "only if you're sure." Edena nodded, and hurried out of the room with Naruto to grab the cushions. Sakura and Sasuke were left alone in the room, sitting quietly on the pale purple bedcovers. Hey, Sakura was a lot of things. Selfish was one of them.

* * *

The night was still, the outside world quiet. It was a very peaceful night. The only sound that could be heard Edena's breathing. She seemed to be the only one there having a nice sleep, surprisingly.

Sakura couldn't get her mind to stop bustling. Sasuke was so close, his body was so _warm_. She wanted to roll over and wrap her arms around him, and for him to do the same, where they would lay there in each other's embrace until the sun rose over the horizon. Just holding each other. She craved his touch.

But that was not going to happen; Sasuke wasn't going to return her emotions. She tightened her eyelids shut when she heard the Uchiha shuffle uncomfortably on the other side of the bed.

So close, yet so far.

Though he was eerily silent, Sakura knew he was awake. His breathing was close to mute, but it was there, and it was uneven. Not like the calm lullaby of a slumber-engulfed teenager, what he should have been breathing like. The truth is, Sasuke was unbearably tired. But he just couldn't sleep. He finally started to feel his lids getting heavy, and to his relief, he began the slow journey into siesta…

"Sasuke?" Sakura's voice rang out softly. Despite her efforts to be quiet, the sudden noise in the tranquil room could have easily resembled that of a trash can dropping three storeys to the ground.

"What?" he asked cantankerously. He was trying to _sleep_.

She vacillated, deterred by his rash response. "U-um, can I ask you something?"

That question was one that had always bothered him. There was really no need to ask whether or not you could ask a question in his opinion. Besides, she could have easily asked whatever it was she needed within the same duration it took her to ask about asking a question. It was quite exasperating.

"I'm not going to stop you," he hissed, raising his voice.

Sakura bit her lip once more. "Sorry, I was just wondering…" it took her so long to continue her sentence, Sasuke started to wonder if she had dozed off. "Do you prefer… long mph do st…?"

Sasuke growled. "Speak up, I can't hear you."

She swallowed audibly. "Do you like girls with long or short hair better?"

He paused. _That_ was her question? She had broken the serene silence of the night to ask him THAT?

He let out a long sigh. "I don't care!" he snarled, then turned away from her.

That was the last thing they said to each other that night.

* * *

...

_**Phew, that took a while. This is the longest chapter yet, I hope it isn't a bother.**_

_**I'm sorry for the way Sasuke acted towards Sakura, he was super tired and his mind was blurry…**_

_**Don't blame me, blame him. Do you guys like longer chapters? Let me know, because I like writing longer ones too.**_

_**Well, please review and let me know what you think. SAYONARA~**_


	12. Twelve: Good Morning

**I noticed there isn't much Naruto in this fic… so, here he is.**

**I'm thinking of changing the pairing in this? Let me know if this should become SasuSaku.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.**

"But Sakura… mpgh…" Kakashi held the pillow tighter over his ears, fighting to drone out the blond by his side. Trust him to forget his earplugs when he needed them most. It was almost unbelievable how much Naruto talked in his sleep, not to mention the way he used actual jutsu against his 'dream-foes'. He had been woken countless times the night before, and was not in the best of moods.

"Naruto…" he grumbled tiredly. Even the most elite of Jonin needed a break.

It was still very early; dew was forming on the grass in the patio, an owl was prowling sluggishly back into its hidey-hole and the sun had only just stretched its lengthy fingers over the horizon announcing a new day. What a beautiful sight it would have been, if not for a certain orange-clad idiot.

Sai rolled onto his side, stretched his legs under the covers and sat up on the edge of his bed, his toes scraping the wooden floor delicately. He had had a wonderful sleep the night before; his arm had caused little to no discomfort and the mattress was more comfortable than his own. It was the best rest he'd had in years.

Edena was on the same boat. Surprisingly, the couch pillows were soft and welcoming. Once she had laid her head on the cushiony softness she'd almost instantly fell into deep slumber. That was mostly due to being used to plastic mats for beds, though.

Sasuke hadn't slept at all. He did however switch between wide awake and auto-pilot several times, much like the first moments before waking up in the morning; blissful if you had gotten enough rest.

Restlessness, he recalled, was usually caused by anxiety or severe depression. It certainly wasn't impossible for him to be either of those things, though he didn't feel he was. Sure, Sasuke was a bit sad about the way his life had turned out. Actually, that's an understatement; he was utterly devastated. But there was nothing he could do about it, so he had to keep going. Either that or death, he didn't mind. After all, when your life has no meaning, why even live?

Some would probably find his blunt approach to the endless pit of mystery that is death strange. Those are the people that live happy, fulfilled lives. Unlike him. Fortunately, he had managed to fall into an unshakable slumber only half an hour before everyone started getting up. Kakashi had a malicious urge to shake him awake, but decided against it. He wasn't evil, and Sasuke would wake up soon enough. The rings under the Uchiha's eyes indicated a restless night.

Sakura had eventually gotten some sleep after her brief exchange with the Uchiha. Her embarrassment forced her brain into shut-down mode, so as not to provoke any more mortifying moments. She was pulled into consciousness slowly at the sounds of muffled footsteps on the carpeted floor. Edena was already dressed and ready for action, heading for the breakfast table where Sai was devouring a grapefruit. She opted for an apple and a few sneaky cookies.

Sakura yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She instinctively rolled to her side, as she usually did at her won house to roll out of bed, freezing when her nose lightly brushed Sasuke's. Her heart skipped a beat. He was there. Sleeping. Right on the edge of her nose.

How many times had she pictured this moment? It had seemed to faraway on her mind, and she only realized then how imperfect her fantasy had been compared to the real thing. He looked uncharacteristically at peace, eyelids fluttering barely as he rolled his eyes in some dream. His mouth was set into a straight line of utter flawlessness, a few strands of hair blowing freely as he exhaled. The tips of his locks brushed her forehead, causing her to shiver. Never had she woken to such bliss.

She closed her eyes once more, hardly believing what was happening. She had to be dreaming. Still, her own imagination was not broad enough to create something so apt and lovely. She had to reach out and touch him to reassure herself he was really there. Her fingertips tingled as she brushed away his stray hair, resting on the bridge of his nose. She took a deep breath. How she wished the moment would never end…

"What are you doing?" Her eyes snapped open, revealing two very confused and tired black ones staring back. She stopped breathing. He raised an eyebrow at her, not feeling up to making any more comments.

"I, er, um… good morning, breakfast is ready!" she stammered, stripping the sheets from her body allowing the crisp morning air to chill her. Her cheeks burnt deep red as she fled the room, mortified at her stupidity.

_Way to go, idiot! _

She almost collided with the wooden door as she hurriedly escaped the piercing gaze Sasuke sent her way. He groaned, knowing he would never be able to get back to sleep. It was a weird pattern he had fallen in to; once he was awake, he could never get back to sleep until he performed enough physical activity.

"Great," he blew a hair from his face, scratching his cheek absently. He just knew this day would suck.

Naruto was shaken vigorously by his sensei into consciousness, before falling back into half-sleep. Hey, he had saved the ninja world. He could get up whenever the hell he felt like it, believe it.

Kakashi seemed to feel similarly to the blond, heading for the bathroom, toothbrush in hand. _Now_ he would get ready, it made more sense, since he was actually going somewhere. He wasn't particularly motivated today, but it was a ninja's job to complete the mission assigned. He would have to set a good example and try his hardest. Sometimes being a ninja was bothersome.

Sasuke was already in there when Kakashi arrived, pulling a comb through his hair. The Jonin raised a questioning eyebrow. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I brush my hair, what's wrong with caring about my appearance?" It's not like it was strange to see a guy brushing his hair; it was seeing Sasuke brush his hair after being called gay, and acting finicky over the cleanliness of the bathroom. "Ugh," he grunted, flicking away a hair sitting in the basin, "this is just gross…"

Amidst this misunderstanding, Naruto was enjoying a rather… unusual dream.

_Inside Naruto's mind…_

"Oh, Naru, save me!" a beautiful damsel in distress cried from atop a giant ramen bowl. Carelessly ripping his formal button-up shirt to shreds revealing a ripped chest and attractive, toned biceps, he flashed his signature grin towards the notorious Charlie Chopstick. He was trying to devour the contents of the ramen bowl that was going to be donated to an orphanage that hadn't eaten a decent meal in years.

"Fear not, fair maiden," he bellowed, "for I will defeat this monster and save the saucy-goodness of the ramen, preserving it with my mighty awesomeness for the children!"

Just as he flew into action, intending on doing just that, he was slapped across the face with something wet and hard. "Gyah!" he cried, falling from the comfort of his luxury bed onto the linen floor. He rubbed his head which he had conveniently landed on, glaring upwards at the dominant form of Sasuke Uchiha.

"What the – hey! I was having an awesome dream, and you ruined it!" he growled.

Sasuke sneered. "You have to get up now, idiot, the boathouse is going to open in five minutes and we have to get across the water as soon as possible. We're already late."

Naruto pouted. "Why didn't we just walk across the water, anyway?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You're the only one with enough chakra to accomplish that, loser. Get up," he ordered, strutting out of the room with an air of superiority.

Naruto mumbled under his breath. Since when did Sasuke have the authority to boss _him_ around? Did life-saving, legendary ninja in the making mean nothing to him? Naruto shook his head. When had the blond become so arrogant?

"Ha ha, I must be spending too much time with the bastard…" he quickly scrambled out of the room, heading towards an open door where the scent of a breakfast banquet wafted tauntingly through the hotel.

-x-

Naruto hummed to himself cheerfully as the team walked groggily down the road. Sasuke trailed behind under the constant watch of Kakashi and Sakura. Sai and Edena were in the middle of the group, discussing their opinions on art. They hadn't been fully acquainted before, and it turned out they had quite a bit in common.

"So you draw often?" she asked, admiring the many sculpting and ink painting tools he had packed in his backpack.

"Yes, it's become a hobby of mine," he replied bluntly.

"Do you have any drawings with you?" she wondered, spying a small notebook. "Or are you more of a canvas-artist?"

He considered showing her the notebook he always took with him – which had actually proven a popular possession of his with many females he had encountered – but was interrupted by Naruto's screeching.

"Tazuna! Hey, it's me, Naruto!" the blond waved frantically at a shimmering silhouette some way down the dirt track, suddenly lurching forward in an impressive display of speed.

"Naruto, wait up!" Sakura called. "Ugh, he always has to run off like that," she muttered, changing her pace to match that of the rest of her team who had started after him. She hadn't actually heard who he was beckoning towards and gasped excitably when she caught sight of a familiar elderly man with a teenage boy trailing by his side.

"Tazuna, Inari, hey it's us!" Sakura echoed, running faster to see them. Inari instantly lit up, shaking her hand.

"Sakura, hi there! We seem to be running into each other often these days, huh?" he laughed. Naruto laughed, remembering how Tazuna and Inari had helped rebuild the Leaf Village after Pein's attack.

"Yeah, good luck, eh?" Naruto giggled, scratching the back of his neck.

Tazuna nodded towards the team, setting down some plans for his current operation on a pile of wood planks. "And you even Have Sasuke here this time. Back from your trip away from the village, I see? How was it? You were gone for quite some time, I heard."

Sasuke was taken aback by the pleasant welcome. Sakura and Naruto exchanged a sheepish glance when he twisted his lips in a confused fashion. "Um, it was fine?"

Inari gave him a hug, startling him. It wasn't often people made friendly gestures his way anymore. He stood there awkwardly, his arms frozen in mid-air by his sides as he took a few steps back. Everyone either raised an eyebrow at his uncomfortable response or ignored it.

Inari released him, grinning broadly. "Good, but next time, give us some warning, huh? I wanted to see you for ages now!" Sasuke quickly looked to Sakura for some help, whose eyes were pleading something along the lines of 'go along with it'.

"Right." He had a feeling the two former members of his squad knew more about this than he did, deciding to address the matter at a later date.

Sakura let out a small, relieved breath. She heard a slight scuffle from behind her, realizing that Sai and Edena had no idea who these people were. "Oh, sorry. Tazuna, Inari, this is Sai. He's a new member to our squad. And this is Edena," she quickly waved a hand their way, not knowing what to say. "She's, er, just tagging along this once."

Edena took this to offence, even though there really was no need to. It seemed Sakura was constantly patronizing her.

"How do you do," Sai smiled his fake smile. Edena took a moment to respond.

"Uh, hello. Nice to meet you."

Tazuna wiped his forehead, which had started producing beads of sweat. "Any friend of Naruto's is a friend of ours," he laughed. He offered noted how hot it was growing outdoors, inviting the team in for a drink and a quick catch up.

"Actually, we're in the middle of a mission at the moment," Kakashi interjected quickly. "But we'd be happy to on our way back."

"Of course, we need to get back to work, anyway," Tazuna shrugged. "We'll be waiting for you guys!" he waved as the group started back on their way.

"Cya guys soon!" Inari jumped on the spot, feeling disappointed. He really wanted to talk to Sakura, now that she had gotten so pretty.

Naruto was also a little let down. But a mission was a mission, and he was determined to finish it. Besides, they weren't going anywhere. The sooner he got the mission done, the sooner he could relax with some old friends.

Sasuke tried to keep moving faster than before, wanting nothing more for the mission to end. He didn't even remember who those people were, and was a little fazed by how fond they seemed to be of him.

Perhaps he had helped them some time ago?

They walked for another twenty minutes before they arrived at the docks, where they quickly hopped into a small wooden canoe-like contraption. Another man steered the boat through the water and seaweed, not making any conversation whatsoever. The entire journey was silent, save a few random comments from Naruto. Sai even noted at one point how there were a variety of breeds of fish in the area. When they finally arrived in the middle of the lake (which was large enough to be an ocean), Sasuke remembered who those people had been the moment he spied a large bridge.

The Naruto Bridge. Of course; their first mission…

A brief wave of nostalgia consumed him while the rest of the group continued along the many bamboo houses that drifted lazily across the tranquil sea of water. He had also come here with Suigetsu sometime before, when they were searching for that sword of his. He smirked.

Edena noticed he was dawdling, pausing for him to catch up. "You guys been here before?" she asked when he was at her side.

"Oh, um, yeah," he replied. He was still slightly lost in thought.

"Nice place," she commented. "A little too wet, though."

"Yeah." Clip, clop. Their shoes made strange, foreign noises along the bamboo. It amused Edena. She giggled under her breath, which slowly transformed into an all-out laughing marathon. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. She was so… strange. Granted he did have fun around her, sometimes she was overbearing and hard to understand. "Why are you laughing?"

"Clip, clop," she replied.

Sakura was listening. Sasuke didn't seem annoyed when she acted stupid. Maybe it was just her? No doubt she was about to create hundreds of scenarios in her head if it hadn't been for the sudden interruption.

"We're here," Kakashi said grimly. Everyone knew from the tone of his voice something was wrong. "And so is the enemy."

-x-

**Tell me what you think, and I'm starting to lose motivation for this, but I loved writing this chapter so, yeah. Anyways, review, and sorry for any mistakes I didn't have much time to edit this one.**


	13. Thirteen: Enter Kabuto?

**Praying for the people in Japan.**

**Everyone who reads this must read Troubles of a Genderly Confused Teen by Lanky Nathan, because if you don't you are missing out on the best fanfic I have ever come across in my entire life. READ. NOW…**

**Actually read it after my one, please.**

**Um, I think I might have the real romance come in later on, but there will be something in the following chapters that will decide who Sasuke falls for. It could be for Sakura or Edena, so tell me who you think the pairing should be ASAP, I really don't know! Thanks.**

**Long Thanks No Jutsu: Thanks to Shifuni for the awesome motivation idea, I tried it and it worked; thanks to Back 2 December for being a reviewer and faithful follower until the very end; thanks to Failanx for giving me pointers and being positive; thanks to elizabethlove4life for being honest; thanks to Your Average Joe motivating me, too; thanks to wheelchairmaniac99 for actually wanting me to continue and for the cool username (I know what it's like to be wheelchair bound); thanks to mole with a troll up his hole for… um… yeah; thanks to FA113N ANG31 for taking the time to read and, well, helping me to continue with feedback… sorry if I forgot you! I can't make this thing too long.**

**Also, in Australia we spell 'gray' grey. It's just how we roll.**

**-x-**

"And so is the enemy."

The hairs stood up on the back of Sakura's neck. The way Kakashi had said that was so sinister and monotonous it sent shivers down her spine. Whoever they were, they were going to be powerful if they worried Kakashi of all people. After so many years of working with him, she had accustomed to reading his one visible eye and hearing the emotions in his voice to understand what the seemingly careless man really felt. She calmed her lurching stomach, reminding herself of how many times she had faced shinobi that were supposedly far more experienced than her. She was still breathing. She was going to be fine. Just because Kakashi was slightly unnerved, she didn't have to be. They had Naruto with them, after all.

Edena had already sensed him before. She was prepared for any attack that may come her way. She inspected her team; Naruto looked a little startled, but judging by all the stories she had heard, he would be fine against any foes. Sasuke would, too, hopefully – this was Kabuto they were dealing with, presumably, and since they had worked together, the man might know his weaknesses. Sai seemed capable, though his handicap may slow them down. Why had Tsunade allowed him to go on a mission so soon? Sometimes that woman was hard to understand. Sakura looked a little baffled, but surely she would be fine. Kakashi was also surveying the other ninja.

Edena would protect them all with her life against that monster. She remembered how cruel he was to his hostages and how low he stooped to get information he wanted. It was simply disgusting. Never would she even dream of damning someone she _hated_ to such a fate, let alone her temporary teammates. Besides, if she failed this, it was her funeral _and_ Sasuke's. She couldn't live with herself if Sasuke had to pay for her mistakes, now that they were real friends and all.

Sai knew the enemies were there, also. He _had _received expert training under Danzo in ANBU ROOT, after all. Sensing enemy chakra came naturally to him. This wasn't what the Konoha shinobi were expecting, though, and he was low on ink. Thinking quickly, he opened up the secret compartment he kept in his pocket – so if he was ever captured, he would always have something to use against any potentially dangerous ninja – and drew a tiny figure of a mouse with a mere drip of chakra-encoded ink. He sent a message to Tsunade along with a request for more ink to use, and then discreetly sent it on his way. Hopefully the enemies hadn't noticed. But even if the mouse did find its way back to Konoha, it would take a long time for backup to arrive. They would have to fight with all they had to survive and protect each other, and his darn arm gave him a disadvantage.

It had been him who pleaded to go along and meet Sasuke for real – to know why Sakura and Naruto never gave up on him. Though Sasuke had unimaginable skills, he didn't understand why they liked someone so… well, callous.

Edena tried to look afraid, as part of her act. Someone started clapping slowly – mockingly – to the left, twelve o' clock. She took a deep, steadying breath. All eyes darted to the sudden noise, leaving them open for an attack from behind. Edena couldn't help but think how unprofessional it was.

The profile she recognised all too well as Kabuto Yakushi became clearer and clearer with each passing second. The light seemed to pierce his skin, though it was only the result of his suddenly being so white. Sasuke's breath caught in his throat and Naruto took a protective step forward.

"Kabuto, it's you!" he exclaimed, readying a kunai.

"Very observant of you there, Naruto," he smirked. He was covered, head to toe, in white flaky scales. He was wearing a dark, unobtrusive cloak that covered most of him, though his arms and feet were strangely visible as well as his face. He didn't look remotely human, resembling something similar to the scariest beast of a child's worst nightmare. His eyes even looked like Orochimaru now; the only thing that gave any identification as to who he really was ended up being his gleaming, pale grey ponytail and glasses.

Edena took a deep breath. Just seeing his face brought back unwanted memories.

Why the hell was Kabuto there? It had to be for Sasuke. Was he planning on taking him back? Why would he, Orochimaru was dead. Did he really believe he could take everyone on alone? No, he had often retreated in the past when he clearly was at a disadvantage. So then… he must have had accomplices. It was useful information that she couldn't tell anyone.

She cursed under her breath and instantly began locating any other presences. There was one… no, two. Wait, four others. Four people, was that all? It couldn't be, He wasn't so stupid as to approach so many skilled shinobi with that many numbers, surely. Hopefully the others would also deduce as much.

She noted a black scurrying mouse across the bridge. It seemed to sense nearby danger, heading off towards the shore in a hurry. Smart little creature, but there was no way for it to get onto dry land. Almost as if to prove her wrong in a defiant rebuttal, the cretin morphed into a crow and glided skilfully over the developing waves that indicated a storm was coming. Had Sai done that?

Sasuke growled. "You…" he closed his eyes, opening them again to reveal a striking, foreign array of splendor. It was absolutely stunning; a complicated pattern of blacks and reds danced around each other. There was no set background color as all the shapes contorted and twisted randomly around each other, in a way that reminded her strangely of a gorgeous, sequined evening gown. It was nothing like any other bloodline trait she had ever witnessed in all her years, and the years of the other ninja that occupied her mind. One of them was fifty, too. There was more detail in his eyes than in all of their surroundings combined. Obviously Kakashi had released his control on the microchip.

Kabuto gasped. "My, it truly is astounding." Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, that is.

He had activated it before being dragged back to the village by Naruto, choosing not to let anyone know about it. Kakashi was clearly taken aback by the presence of such abilities. Sakura seemed to be mesmerized by its complicated and somehow serene beauty. It was such a powerful weapon, yet it was also a masterpiece of the finest that no artist could recreate. Even Sai showed interest in it, which showed on his face.

_He has become a formidable opponent, I doubt I would be able to take him down if it weren't for this microchip,_ Kakashi observed flatly. His gaze returned to Naruto. _To think that the dead-last could bring him back… I'm proud of you. _He shook his head. This was no time for such intimate thoughts of praise.

The dock rocked gently as Kabuto floated gracefully towards them. Well, not literally; his black cloak gave the impression he was floating.

"Stay back," Sakura warned. He paid her no mind, heading for Sasuke. Kakashi activated his sharingan, suddenly appearing right in front of the grey-haired man.

"I can't let you near him, I'm afraid." Kabuto closed his eyes with a sinister grin, adjusting his glasses to the bridge of his nose.

"That's fine," he leered at the man. "I don't need to go near him. I just want to talk."

"Talking is out of the question," Kakashi snapped. Kabuto feigned disappointment.

"Oh, is that so? How unfortunate… I really liked you guys, you know. It pains me to kill you, it really does." Kakashi tightened his grip on the kunai, slashing at the other man's neck. Kabuto had already vanished into a distant tree, however, and was preparing his chakra for a jutsu. Naruto ran towards him, but was stopped by a strong arm. He growled at Sasuke.

"Don't stop me, he's trying to attack!" He balled his hands into fists.

"Wait, idiot," the other teen ordered, completely calm, "think before you move. He wants you to charge."

It was true; Kabuto had set a shrewd trap below the dock, which – if activated by weight – would engulf anyone or anything in flames only extinguishable by the person who created it. One of Orochimaru's desperate attempts to copy the powers of the Sharingan's Amaterasu, no doubt. It was covered with a clumsy genjutsu, in Sasuke's opinion, one that didn't stand a chance against his Sharingan. "Good job, Sasuke," Kabuto laughed. "Only you could have picked that up."

Even Sakura was impressed. She hadn't detected the trap at all, which was something she could never admit to. She was awfully suspicious at this point. She had encountered Kabuto before, and having observed his attack style, there was definitely something off. Way back in the Chunin exams, he had been so careful and was constantly on alert. But all of a sudden he was being lackadaisical, almost as if he knew he could take on a group of legendary ninja such as themselves. She needed to keep her guard up for any technique he may have up his sleeve. She heard a shrill 'sshiiiiing' from her left.

Kakashi.

He had a kunai at the neck of a shady newcomer. Sakura instantly jumped out of the way as a paperbomb landed at her feet, landing gracefully in a tree and returning a barrage of senbon through the smoke. Naruto was gone, probably already in combat with some rouge ninja. She heard deep laughter rumbling from above her, snapping her neck up to see a man she didn't recognise.

"Sorry little girl, it's nap time for you," he chuckled. Then she passed out.

-x-

Edena was aware they were preparing to attack. Sakura was still staring into Sasuke's eyes.

_Wake up,_ she thought urgently. He was going to kill her if she didn't move…

Not having enough time to think, she quickly sent a paperbomb attached to a kunai towards her, hoping it would shake her out of her apparent daydreams. Fortunately she was actually far more alert than Edena had thought, jumping… straight towards the enemy. Darn, she mustn't have sensed his chakra.

Not that she had expected her to. Honestly, in Edena's opinion, Sakura's only ability was intimidating people in casual situations.

By the time the smoke cleared and Edena had dodged a kunai with ease, Sakura was lying asleep on the floor. Knockout gas? Where was everyone?

Naruto was running towards Kabuto shouting some sort of battle cry. What a fool.

Sasuke hadn't moved, but he was glaring straight at the nearest imposter.

Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. Thinking up some sort of plan, or perhaps devising a surprise attack?

Sai was also missing. So it was just her… and Sasuke. Crap.

Kabuto was still chilling in his little tree. He thought he was just so great, did he?

First thing was first: save Sakura. She had been hoping the little squirt wouldn't need any saving, but apparently she couldn't look after herself properly. Edena felt a little guilty for being so harsh, but honestly, in the ninja world there was no time for such mistakes.

"I'll get Sakura," she called out, not waiting for a reply.

Kabuto noticed her running towards the girl passed out on the floor. It was the perfect chance to kill her, no? He readjusted his collar – it was a signal between him and his men, meaning attack. That was where Kakashi made his mistake.

'Kabuto', who was really the leader of his hired assassination squad in disguise, ran forwards so it looked like he was preparing to attack the girl sprawled unceremoniously on the floor. Right before his right hand man who had taken the girl down could counter-attack his movements, he summoned his trump card – a reflector shield, one that could repel any ninjutsu. When the lightning blade was taken care of, he sent multiple kunai towards his head, which his friend carefully dodged.

What a fool, he didn't even get Kotsumana's fighting style right.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Kabuto, or Minashi, called sardonically. "That disguise of yours won't fool me, Kakashi Hatake. Or should I say, The Copy Ninja? I've heard stories."

Kakashi released the genjutsu he held over himself while Sakura hid in the bushes. Edena watched, feeling stupid for not noticing before.

Sakura hadn't actually been knocked out; it was a ruse to see who the enemy were after besides Sasuke. Kakashi had somehow, amidst all the confusion, attacked one of the enemy ninja and assumed his appearance in the hopes he could attack their leader when called out from their hiding places. When Sakura landed below him, he figured she would sense his chakra anyway and decided to pretend to knock her out while sending her some information through a genjutsu. Sakura knew Kakashi's voice, which he had kept the same for that exact reason, and pretended to faint as soon as he spoke. She always did have a mind that processed details quickly. Since he could control time while using genjutsu with his Mangekyo Sharingan, it was easy to tell her what he wanted swiftly. As soon as Edena had predictably rushed to rescue her unconscious self, the enemy became interested and lunged into the trap.

Kakashi hadn't known that the collar-adjusting was a signal to make a move, which is how Minashi knew that he wasn't really his ally. Sakura sensed danger, instantly escaping the scene to prepare her battle strikes as Kakashi instructed. Maybe these Konoha ninja weren't as helpless as she had first thought.

Sakura and Sasuke were currently crouching behind shrubs, working out battle tactics. So far they didn't know how many enemies were nearby, but their estimate was five.

"One for each of us," Sasuke agreed with her deduction. "But I don't understand this. Kabuto would be far more cautious."

"Right. They'll most likely be with partners they work well with as their leader directs them, or they will attack as a single group. If that's the case, we will have to all stick together and do the same or we'll be at a disadvantage." Sakura took a breath, apparently ignoring Sasuke's musing aloud. She heard him loud and clear, and totally agreed with him; she just didn't want to look in his eyes again for fear she might not be able to look away.

"If they don't we should pair up, too," Sasuke thought, biting his thumbnail. "I should be with Naruto. He is the only ninja here whose style I am familiar with besides Kakashi, and it's been far too long."

"I'll be with Kakashi, then. Edena is supposed to be an S-ranked criminal – "

"Ex S-ranked criminal," Sasuke corrected. Sakura briefly wondered why he cared about such minor details when she heard the enemy shout.

"Enough of this!" Minashi threw his arms parallel to the side, indicating the rest of his team should appear. In an instant, seven ninja appeared by his side emanating pure menace with their hateful gazes. "Weno, you take care of the girl there," he pointed to Sakura, whose pink hair had just emerged from the shrubs as Sasuke trailed behind. "Ganno and Sutari, you guys take out the Jonin. Kotsumana and Leno get the Uzumaki kid. I'll go after Sasuke and the other chick with Rouki. Remember, he wants the Uchiha alive, but the girl can be killed. Go!"

"Sir!" they replied.

Minashi had changed from his Kabuto form, revealing his actual appearance. It was nothing memorable; that was probably why he had been hired. Nobody would look his way twice. No defining features, average looking body and face. The only thing that would even hint he was a ninja was his giant shield, which could retract into a small square box he attached to a belt on the side of his loose brown shorts. He didn't even have any symbols on his clothing – just a plain white T-shirt.

Naruto growled. "You think I'm gonna let you take Sasuke away? Well forget it, you aren't going to get a single scratch on his head while I'm around, be – "

"Shut up loser, they're coming!" Sasuke ordered. Naruto, though offended, obeyed and ducked as a strange weapon was flung his way. It lodged itself in the nearest tree, cutting so deep he couldn't identify what it was. He could have sworn he heard something shuffling in the bark. He heard voices echo through the deserted clump of trees.

It was strange that so many shoots and trees grew in the middle of a lake. He had asked Kakashi about it ages ago who had replied it was simply their habitat. Never had he been so thankful for the environment.

"Careful, this is the guy who killed Madara Uchiha, remember?"

"I know, I know. But we've killed our fair share of honourable ninja too, eh."

The first had a very gruff voice. He acted cautious when really he was anxious to kill. He wore a simple dirt-brown combination of long pants and a vest with no shirt underneath, revealing his muscular chest. He was about three feet taller than the other man, and was very intimidating. His name was Leno.

The other had a Canadian accent and always listened to what his partner said. They combined their skills all the time creating effective jutsu that were virtually impossible to block. He wore his hair in a small rat's tail that clashed with his pressed trousers and strangely matched singlet. He was too skinny for his clothing, which made him look worthless next to Leno. This man was Kotsumana.

At first glance, Naruto just knew he could take them. If he could defeat Madara Uchiha, Pein and Nagato, multiple Akatsuki members and countless more, he would hardly need to lift a finger.

He had gotten cocky ever since receiving so much praise for his efforts in helping the village, and even though modesty hadn't always been one of his best traits (what with his constant bragging when they were younger) he had managed to keep it under control. A big-headed ninja never got the job done as they usually underestimated their foes. He tried to keep this in mind.

Naruto jumped onto his feet with a balled fist in the air. "Oh yeah? I'm going to crush you freaks, believe it! Don't you know who I am?" He _tried_ to keep it in mind. I didn't say he succeeded.

Leno scoffed. "What an idiot!"

"Says you!" Naruto lunged towards the skinnier enemy, thinking that he would be an easier first target. He aimed his fist straight for the others' nose. "Gotcha!"

But he didn't.

Naruto's hand found itself locked in a heavy weight, which dragged the rest of his body to the ground. The word 'one' was engraved on its side. It was so heavy he had to use nearly all his strength to keep his right arm up, which happened to be his dominant hand. "What is this?"

Kotsumana raised an amused eyebrow, though his sunken-in eyes revealed no emotion. Apparently, these guys weren't going to be as easy as he thought.

**-x-**

**Phew. Sheesh, seriously, I was barely feeling this chapter at all, so I really hope it doesn't suck! I felt the need to get the action rolling. I can assure you that the next chapter will be super-mega-ultimate intense, and the romance will heat up as soon as this fight thing is over. Just a little spoiler.**

**Please tell me what pairing you think it should be? Thanks!**

**Remember Lanky Nathan.**

**Er, love you all. (Not really, that would be weird. For all I know you could be some creepy old perverted man/woman that lives in the sewers of Jamaica and has a pet rat that brings him scrap food from the restaurant above like Ratatouille.) **

…**I love Jamaica.**

**Also, I have a very random and hopefully amusing poll on my profile that I would appreciate you checking out.**

**Until next time, feeble-minded humans…**


	14. Fourteen: Nostalgia Part 1

**Chapter 14… I think.**

**Seriously you should all go and tell Back 2 December to update because I am in love with her writing! Go check her out!**

**I realized that I haven't gone into Edena's past yet, hm…**

**You'll find out in due time. **

**I'm gonna miss **_**Two And A Half Men**_** (I don't own that…) but apparently they're planning on bringing it back? I dunno, I hope so. Sheen's Winning.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.**

**Italics are the flashback…**

-x-

"Take this!" Naruto threw a few more punches into the gut of Kotsumana. The man – who was so sickly pale and skinny he resembled Nagato – hunched over clutching his sides. A thin line of dribble burst from his mouth as the trained, rock-hard fist of the blond connected with his now trembling body. Gasping, Kotsumana fell to his knees and tried his best to get away from the now legendary ninja.

He had known Naruto was going to be good, but he didn't expect this. Without even using a single ninjutsu, the blond had already defeated him? Impossible. Even so, he had expected as much from one trained under Jiraiya himself.

"Don't touch him!" The giant Leno threw three more colossal weight at Naruto while Kotsumana escaped, crumbling into a pile of dirt on the floor. The pile of dirt panted, blowing clumps of itself across the ground. The clumps, soon after rolling about five meters away from the pile of dirt, slowed down and rolled back to the main pile and picked up a few ants and twigs along the way, as if being pulled back by invisible strings.

_It was just a clone?_ Naruto wondered. _Why hadn't it disappeared?_

"Not a clone," he replied, as if reading the boy's thoughts. The clump of dirt started to rise above the ground. It began to take a shape; at first it was wobbly and unclear, but slowly the dirt looked more and more like a sandcastle in the shape of a very thin man. The dirt soon changed to skin in an impossible swirl of chakra and, apparently, flesh as Kotsumana somehow appeared amongst all the dust and Earth. Kotsumana was breathless, but he had a smug expression. He had just morphed from a pile of dirt to a human.

Naruto's right hand and left leg were trapped in black weights, courtesy of Leno. When he raised a confused eyebrow and contorted his lips to create an absolutely baffled expression, Kotsumana rolled his eyes. "I'm made of dirt, dumbass," he sneered.

Sheesh. How was he supposed to know? And how could someone be made of dirt? That was obviously impossible, right? But it had to be true – there stood before him a man that was made of, well… soil. Naruto took a step back to evaluate the situation. One guy – the giant buff one, Leno – could throw gigantic metal weights and attach them to their opponent's essential fighting body parts. But the other guy was made of muck and gunk joined to generate a skinny dude with no palpable aptitudes. How did they help each other? Was he going to make a trench in the earth and trip Naruto over? The blond snickered.

"What's so funny, midget?" Kotsumana spat. Naruto's eyes widened. What did he just say?

Did he really… did he call Naruto a _midget_?

For years, Naruto had been made fun of. He had been ignored, bullied, had things thrown at him; the lot. His childhood hadn't exactly been safe or secure and he had never been able to approach another human being without hearing insults or being pummelled by any nearby objects they found conveniently buoyant enough to throw at him. So, you'd think he would be used to it, right?

Wrong.

One of the first times Naruto and Sasuke had ever conversed without getting into a verbal onslaught or brawl: it was coming back to him, when he and Sasuke had connected for the first time. When he had realized just how much Sasuke meant to him in the first place. The moment he had persistently reserved in the back of his mind to keep himself motivated during the search for Sasuke.

_Flashback…_

_Sasuke was lying flat on the grass, his apparently 'perfect' body slowly rising and falling as his breathing became more relaxed. There was nothing particularly extraordinary Naruto could see about his teammate. His eyes were closed and he was being eerily silent for someone of his tender age – twelve-year-olds were meant to jump up and down and get excited about injudicious things like finding bugs. Sasuke did not. __Ever__. Get excited. _

_And it was quite hard to be excited when you were worn out far past comfort, even for a ninja. After a couple of hours of running up and down trees, you start to feel the need for rest, despite how many years of ruthless and staunch training you may have tolerated to prepare yourself. _

_The blond knucklehead lay by his side, their heads perpendicular but their bodies on opposite sides of a line they had drawn. It was there to mark where they weren't allowed to cross, but they had both crossed each other's with the tips of their crowns to show they needed to rest in a temporary truce._

_Naruto had bruises, dirt and blood all over himself. There wasn't a single part of him that didn't look dilapidated or extremely tired. You could see the exhaustion in his deep-blue eyes, which seemed to beseech incessantly for a cessation, like the pleading eyes of a puppy that needed a place to stay. Yet, he refused to give up and prove that the bastard lying by his side was better than him in anything at all._

_Speaking of that little bastard, Naruto saw that he was catching his breath faster than he was. Sasuke's breathing was not as jagged and restless as his own. He wasn't going to let Sasuke get up and prove he had more stamina! Naruto struggled while he slowly pushed his trembling form off of the luscious grass in an attempt to start again. There was dew seeping from each blade, making it harder for his shoes to grip and causing him to fall onto his knees. His knuckles turned white and sweat beaded on his forehead, making him look like he was constipated. His nose was scrunched up and it took all of his willpower not to let out a small whimper or cry._

"_Naruto," Sasuke called breathlessly. His eyes were like bulldozers crashing through Naruto's big wall of a macho charade, but they clearly showed a stern understanding towards his pain. As if he actually cared about Naruto's welfare. Perhaps neither of them was recuperating as fast as he had thought. "That's enough. We should go." _

_Sasuke had always been blunt and straight to the point. Usually it was annoying, but Naruto was glad for it now. The last thing he needed was someone making fun of him in his time of struggle._

_Naruto was going to protest, when a shooting pain ran down his right leg. He grunted, clutching to it and falling back onto the ground, causing a ring of dirt to become unsettled and float lazily in the warm night air. Once the ring finally lay back down in a blanket over the ground, Sasuke was crouching by Naruto's side with a hint of concern lingering in the back of his eyes. "Y-yeah…" he replied weakly._

_Sasuke briefly inspected his teammate. "Do you need help?" It was monotonous. It was hesitated. It wasn't very heartfelt. But he had asked; he had shown he cared, if even in the slightest. Naruto instantly dropped his guard, subconsciously relieved to have someone be concerned about his wellbeing after years of looking after himself. That was the first time someone besides Iruka or Old Man Hokage ever asked him if he needed their help._

_Naruto was tried to look defiant. He tried to look like he could take care of himself. But when he screamed while trying to walk only two steps, Sasuke noticed that it was just a façade so he didn't look meek while in the Uchiha's presence. Resting his arm over his shoulder after a brief, stern word, the raven-haired teen smirked and closed his eyes as the blond trailed reluctantly by his side. _

_He was limping and dragging him down, but for some reason Sasuke didn't fully understand, he wanted to help his teammate. Muddy water splashed onto their legs and soaked their feet, squelching and making an unwanted ruckus. It hadn't rained at all, but being so close to the lake made all the land quite thick and dank._

_They walked for a few silent moments, Sasuke struggling slightly each time Naruto's legs wavered and threatened to collapse, until Naruto got annoyed. "What's so funny?" Sasuke's smirk dropped slightly, but he was still clearly amused by something. Naruto pouted. "Saaasssuuukkeeee, teeeelll meeeeeeee – "_

"_Shut up, loser." Sasuke looked down with a soft smile playing on his lips, a pristine eyebrow raised an inch higher than usual. It suddenly occurred to him that Sasuke must pluck. The corner of the Uchiha's mouth raised higher than he had ever thought possible, involuntarily, before pressing into a firm line. It wasn't a big grin, it wasn't s sincere grin; it was actually more of a mocking grin. But he had grinned all the same. "You're practically a whole head shorter than me, you know that? I have to lean over just to support you."_

_Naruto felt like slapping him. "What do you mean, I'm short? We're pretty much the same size…" he was about to continue when Sasuke pointedly looked down his nose on him and swivelled on his heels, making them back-to-back. Looking at their reflection in a small puddle, Naruto visibly blanched when he saw that Sasuke indeed was about five inches higher than he was. Sasuke chuckled. "Okay you have a point, sheesh, no need to get all high and mighty about it."_

_Even though Sasuke was a real prick sometimes, Naruto had to admit he always liked hanging out with him. Sasuke never had made fun of him, never made snide comments behind his back (but to his face instead) and constantly teased him… but in a brotherly way. Deep down Naruto loved the guy, and he was fairly sure Sasuke loved him back. To a reasonable extent. I mean, if Naruto died, he would probably be upset. Maybe._

"_I'm bigger than you in other ways," Naruto mumbled cheekily._

"_You mean your ego?" Sasuke scoffed haughtily._

"_You know," Naruto giggled, readjusting his grip around Sasuke's neck, "if anyone else had said that they would be a pile of blood and guts on the ground right now."_

"_Why, would you chew their ear off by screaming about how much taller than them you are? Or perhaps you would gnaw on their ankles until they reached your size and then beat 'em up."_

_Naruto groaned, but he was really having a good time. It was at that moment that he realized he and Sasuke were actually – kind of –friends. Heck, Sasuke was his only friend._

_So they were best friends, right?_

_Fancy having his very own best friend._

"_Hey, quit zoning out. Or can't you hear me down there?" Obviously Sasuke didn't joke around very often, either, judging by how lame his wise-cracks got after a while. Maybe he didn't have other people to joke around with. Maybe Naruto was his only friend as well._

_Fancy the two of them being the other's only friends. The other's best friend. Best friends. And…_

_And he was the short one. But that suited him fine, as long as he was only shorter than Sasuke. Fancy not minding being beat by that bastard in something._

"M-midget?" Only Sasuke was allowed to call him short. Only _best friends_ could call each other short and get away with it.

"Shut up, Kotsu, we have things to do. Just attack him already, he won't be able to run very far now," Leno sighed, scratching the back of his neck boredly. He shuffled his feet and took in his surroundings as if he were fighting a pathetic three-year-old.

"I'm a… midget?" Naruto was confounded. He thought he had grown at least five whole inches since his genin days (well, he still was a genin, but whatever) and hadn't been teased about his height since then. That may have been because of his suddenly skyrocketing into fame, though.

While Naruto was so unprofessionally distracted by his imprudent thoughts, Leno tried to affix another weight onto his free leg. Naruto dodged it effortlessly, back flipping and steadying himself with one hand as if it were easier than breathing. His wrist twirled and the rest of his body followed, spinning like an acrobat in the air and landing with a 'thump' on his feet once more. If only he had been paying attention to the ground at the time, it would have been quite skilful and impressive.

Turns out Kotsumana actually _did_ make a sort of trench in the ground, causing Naruto to fall into a giant hole. It was a minor distraction, but it created an opening wide enough for a skilled ninja such as him to trap an idiot such as the blond. Naruto's fingers turned white latching onto the edges of the deep perforation, slipping as the smallest clumps of dirt he clung so desperately onto gave way. His eyed widened and his face turned a deep mauve from all the blood rushing to his head. He couldn't fall for such a measly trap! Naruto Uzumaki didn't fall for traps! He shrieked, falling face-first into the ten inch deep fissure. You may be wondering why he was so freaked out to be falling into such a shallow hole. His stomach lurched, fingers digging into the edges of the tiny gap in the ground right before razor-sharp teeth snapped shut before the tip of his nose. He breathed a quick sigh of relief, catching the same breath in his throat again as more strong jaws tried to dig into his tissue.

Did I forget to mention there were mutant, carnivorous beasts lurking in its depths? Well, there were.

"Gyah, Sasuke help!" Naruto cried, before pushing with the very edges of his toes off of the collapsing remains that rimmed the pit. Leno chuckled, but Kotsumana remained stoic, as if laughing would puncture his pride.

Naruto clutched his shoulder with his free hand – which was being pulled down by a huge weight. Never had Naruto been pushed so far in such a short amount of time. He would have to try a different approach, but close-range was all he was good at.

He would need someone, or something, that was too big to get caught in the massive weights…

Something – or someone – that didn't need to worry about mutated creatures grinding it to pieces…

Something, or someone, that was virtually indestructible unless faced with something as large as it was.

Something, or, more appropriately, _someone_, like Gamabunta.

The blond smirked, making Leno sneer at him. "Get an idea, retard? I swear, you're even more pathetic than your petty village's defences," he snorted. Naruto tried not to think how he would know the quality of Konoha's defences and kept his mind on the task at hand.

"You better watch your mouth when you talk to me," Naruto menaced, biting his thumb and breaking the skin. Crimson, warm liquid oozed freely, dripping onto the ground. He had gotten used to the slight pinching pain he got when attempting to use a Summoning Jutsu.

It was weird at first, and slightly unnerving, to summon things with his blood; but it was also useful because nobody but him could summon the Toad Boss. And what a large and intimidating Toad Boss, too.

He slammed his palm flat down onto the concrete, sending shockwaves through his body. "Summoning Jutsu!" he screeched, disappearing into a cloud of swirling smoke. The ground shook momentarily, and Leno and Kotsumana stood watching the now powdery-white area where their enemy once stood with shell-shocked expressions.

"Did he just do…" Leno began, too stunned to finish.

"…Summoning Jutsu, eh? Interesting." Kotsumana got into a battle stance. Then a loud belching sound reached his enemy's ears.

Naruto shrieked. "Hell no! Not _now_!"

He had not, unfortunately for him, summoned Gamabunta; in the middle of the puff of smoke, laughing uncontrollably, sat Gamatatsu. Yes, the fat little yellow toad bellowed as Naruto tried to summon anyone else but him, failing each time.

Leno and Kotsumana looked from the frustrated teen to one another. Leno seemed to mime 'what do we do now' and Kotsumana seemed to reply, silently, 'I dunno'. They both shrugged and continued to watch the show with hidden amusement, and slight irritation. Slowly the latter seemed to take the place of any entertainment, followed with boredom. They had come for a battle, not a cheap knockoff of Curly from _The Three Stooges_.

Finally, Naruto got fed up and blew his top right in the middle of the battlefield.

"Where's Gamabunta?" he yelped. Not only had he failed the Summoning – not for the first time either – but he had also been embarrassed in front of the ninja he was fighting. There was nothing worse for a celebrity such as himself.

"On holiday, shrimp," the yellow toad replied, staring at the baddies and making air-headed comments. Naruto felt like slapping him. And what was with all the short comments today? "Hey, those guys are looking at you weird. We should bash 'em!"

"Shut up, idiot – " Naruto cut himself off when he had a thought. _Hm, Gamatatsu is pretty fat…_

The yellow toad rolled over, making the floating houses shake and sinking half of the fluctuating residences. _Yeah he's fat._

So fat, it just might work. That Leno guy couldn't get his weights to weigh something heavier than them down, now could they?

"Gamatatsu!" he called, waving a packet of snacks in the air where he could see. Luckily for Naruto he had stolen some 'provisions' from the minifridge right before leaving their accommodation. The happiness was literally visible, in the form of a white star, shining in his eyes as he ogled the mouth-watering treats. "We're gonna do that water jutsu!"

Naruto noticed that Leno would be easier to beat if he could be forced into the water. All his weights would drag him underwater, maybe even drowning him. The other guy, Kotsumana, would probably deteriorate in the liquid and his little creatures would be unable to attack. All Naruto needed to do was hit them with something filled with enough force to shove them off of the edge. Namely, the Water Blast, which had enough force to break through a giant crystal barrier that covered an entire forest, if he recalled correctly. It was certainly going to work.

Gamatatsu seemed to understand, letting his stomach do the thinking. He was practically hypnotized by the cheap packet of peanuts. Not that he needed any more food, even Naruto knew he certainly wouldn't starve.

Naruto jumped onto his back and focused his chakra towards his slightly quavering palm. He was still feeling the effect of all previous blows and nearly being eaten by furry little mutants. Kotsumana suspected something was wrong and, for the second time (which wasn't any more fun than the first, mind you), tried to make the ground they stood upon melt into a pit of carnivorous beasts. Gamatatsu noticed this, jumping into a nearby tree where there was no dirt.

Naruto frowned. "I won't have enough time to channel my chakra through you…"

"That's okay, Mister Naruto. I've been a practising," he smiled a goofy smile, patting his own head.

"Really?" Naruto asked, sincerely astonished. He hadn't expected the little runt toad to have practised ninjutsu without being forced.

"Yeah, father made me," he giggled. Now it made sense. Thank goodness for fathers.

"That's great! Okay, I'm counting on you," Naruto nodded, deciding he would have to distract the other ninja while Gamatatsu prepared his water blast. They needed to be in a line, so that Gamatatsu could get them both at once. Otherwise, the other could dodge it. "When I say so, shoot them both into the water. Got it?"

"Yup!" He giggled, feeling fairly pleased with himself.

"Hey, craptard!" Naruto called towards the bigger of his foes, Leno. Said man seemed to be shaken out of a boredom-induced daze, averting his attention towards the annoying brat he was trying to kill. "Where's your licence?"

Leno scrunched up his eyebrows. "What? Why, er, for what?"

"Don't you need a licence to be that ugly?"

Leno processed what he had heard for a few moments. "Nah, I don't. Are we gonna fight or – hey! You!" Naruto tried his best not to laugh his head off at how slow his 'foe' turned out to be, but kept his cool. Gamatatsu was nearly ready to perform the jutsu, all Naruto needed to do was lure him a little to the right.

"Fatty, I could waltz over here and you wouldn't be able to catch me with all that excess lard hangin' out of your ass." Naruto thought what he had said was a little cheesy, but to his surprise, Leno looked infuriated. Kotsumana even looked a little worried. The smaller of the two men didn't look like he was prepared to move, though, which was good since he was in the perfect position for the plan. Luckily he looked taken aback with his own thoughts. Obviously the weakest of all the enemies had been assigned to him. How naïve and stupid of them.

Leno tried to throw more weights at Naruto, but using his Sage mode, he was able to dodge them all easily. "You'll have to come get me, tubby!"

That tore it. Leno sprinted, full-speed, towards the tiny teenager. He was so mad his mind couldn't think straight, obviously, as he leapt over the pit full of mutants and headed straight into Gamatatsu's aim. Kotsumana seemed to catch on at that moment, shouting at his teammate to fall back, but he was too late.

"Now!" Naruto cried. Gamatatsu, whose cheeks were larger than the moon, vomited a huge blast of water straight into the gut of Leno. He screamed, being pushed into his other teammate. The ground they were on cracked in half from the sheer force of the blast, making Naruto's job all the more easy. Naruto was sitting beside his toad friend, feeding him more chakra to keep the water flowing. When the water ran out and everything finally settled, the two enemies were nowhere in sight.

"D-did I d-do i-it?" Gamatatsu asked breathlessly. Naruto snapped back into the task at hand, rushing to his companion's aid.

"It was amazing Gamatatsu! By far the best Water Blast ever, and you did it without me!"

Gamatatsu blushed. "B-boy, thanks, Mister…" his body became limp and his body quivered. Naruto's smile dropped as he realized how damaged the toad now was.

There was a large gash in his throat and blood was overflowing freely from the wound. "G-Gamatatsu!"

"Don't worry… Narut-t-to…" he smiled his goofy smile, "just send me home… Papa w-will fix it…"

"How do you know?" Naruto asked, teary-eyed. Gamatatsu. He had always been there for him. When Naruto was in his time of need and had nothing else up his sleeve, Gamatatsu was always there. A true friend. He couldn't die, not now.

"Because… this happens all the time." Suddenly his voice wasn't cracking. He was no longer lying limp on the ground. The blood stopped flowing. "It's just a side effect. Too much toad-oil."

Naruto's eye twitched. "Get the hell out of here you dumb frog!"

Gamatatsu frowned. "Hey, we had a deal. Peanuts or I'm telling father!"

Sometimes being the Toad Sage was tough. Never had he respected Jiraiya so much for his endurance.

Naruto rested his hands on his knees, bending over and panting while thinking over the battle. Why had he called for Sasuke in his time of need? It had bothered him the entire time.

"N…Naruto…" The sound sent a shiver down his spine. It was Sakura, and she sounded hurt. He had completely forgotten about everyone else.

-x-

**Mpgh. I kinda liked this chapter. **

**Tell me if you did too.**

**That was 4 000 words… oops…**

**Sayonara~**


	15. Fifteen: Nostalgia Part 2

**So, it begins.**

**This is Sakura's fight. Woot.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything to do with it.**

**It seems everyone thinks that this should stay SasuXOC still, which is actually kinda good because I've thought of something to do with that now. But Sakura isn't going down without a fight, and I'll be sure to satisfy her heartache too.**

**Cannot believe how many reviews I got! Thanks so much to everyone! And shoutout to My Grass Is Emo So I Cut It because you got my story up to 100 reviews, Echo Uchiha because you reviewed every chapter and Back 2 December because you are the person who keeps me motivated the most! Since you love Sakura this one's for you. **

-x-

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Weno called. Sakura was hiding in a bush, anticipating her next moves. She needed to know what kind of jutsu the guy used, but going head on would be a risk if he was any good. Obviously, their leader had severely underestimated her strength and sent out his weakest link to take care of the 'girl'.

Honestly, what was it with men and thinking women were less capable in the ninja world? Sakura encountered sexism all the time, and each time she proved herself. Sometimes it was really crappy, though.

Like now. She understood that her frail-looking, adolescent body could be favorably deceiving, but this was just insulting.

Weno: short, skinny and a total loser. He stood straight and didn't pay much attention to his surroundings the way a decent shinobi would. His clothes were tight and revealed a little too much for the imagination. It was like seeing someone in an even tighter latex-suit than Lee's, except the fabric was slightly transparent. She had to be sure to keep her eyes higher than his waist to ensure she still had a few ounces of purity left in her. Why did all the bad guys have such outlandish and immodest garments?

Sometimes she didn't mind, but she would never admit to that.

He had a one track mind. Just by looking at him Sakura knew he was just a total underdog. She had spent her fair share of time in the hospital treating people like him, the ones that always ran in head-first trying to prove themselves on deadly missions. It reminded her too much of Naruto and how irrational he used to be. They were idiots, failures and easy to beat up. She was totally going to smash his face in for ruining the mission that was going to decide Sasuke's freedom.

But something held her back. Maybe it was the way he was so ignorant but bright at the same time, or maybe it was the way he looked around boredly as if this were a waste of his time. Perhaps it was the way he reminded her of Sasuke.

Weno had jet-black hair, gelled into a spiky hairdo that was pointing out in all the wrong ways, practically a mirror image of Sasuke's signature 'do without the bangs. Yet somehow, just like Sasuke, it worked.

Weno had very light skin, close to Sai's but still resembled something human. Somehow, it was attractive like Sasuke, without making him look like he was from The Hidden Rain or something – a typical Konoha skin tone. The only thing that didn't resemble Sasuke was his facial features and height, which he had Weno beat in hands down.

But still, somehow, this premature loser took her back to when they were just genin; to the best days of her life.

To when everything was carefree and she was still innocent.

To when Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura were all a team. When everyone looked at them and always thought of them as one.

When they ate together, slept together, worked together and practically lived the same life together. A package deal.

When nobody would mess with them, in fear that they would be bashed by the other team members. When fangirl's would glare at the only female out of pure envy.

When she didn't care what people thought because she could be with her team for the rest of her ninja career, and maybe even her life.

When she had somebody to turn to for advice or when she was upset.

When they were friends. Family. Together forever.

When she was living a lie.

Just by looking at the way he inspected his surroundings with disdain and loathing, she was caught in an unconscious abyss of sickly nostalgic memories.

_Flashback…_

"_Naruto, would you slow down? You're going to get a stomach ache or something, honestly." Sakura rolled her eyes when all she received in reply was a foul grunt._

_They were sitting in a teahouse, the one they visited and recuperated within after their first mission in the Land of Waves. Everything was quiet and still. The people were peaceful and kept to themselves; not many villagers were out on a Wednesday afternoon unless they were elderly or on vacation. The only other person that was dining nearby was a wrinkly old bag that had fallen asleep in his booth with green tea dripping slowly down his beard and into his shirt. _

_Sasuke was leaning back contentedly in his chair with a cup of water cradled comfortably in his left hand. His eyes were closed and the only thing that made him look as if he were still conscious was the way his eyes fluttered slightly. Sakura had stared at him long enough to know when he was asleep or not, which wasn't something she was proud of. She just couldn't help it._

_His face was like a work of art carved by the angels…_

_Naruto was the complete opposite, downing bowl after bowl of tempura, miso soup and ramen. He slurped his noodles animatedly, sending steaming droplets of Tonkotsu flavoured broth flying at rocket-speed towards anyone within a sixty centimetre radius. Luckily for Kakashi, he had chosen to sit furthest from the rambunctious Uzumaki, sedentary directly opposite to him on the small round table they occupied._

_Normally his lack of table manners would have annoyed her to no end – his elbows were rocking the table back and forth, he pointed to everyone he saw with his chopsticks, he often chose to chew and speak simultaneously, he forgot to thank the waitress for his meal and he didn't use all of his soy sauce (he didn't even need it, he had just felt the need to pour some), but Sakura was in too good of a mood to rain on his disrespectful parade. _

_Their very first mission. An A-rank, successful. She would treasure each and every moment of it forever, for it was the first time she had truly acted like a reputable kunoichi. Even if she hadn't done much, she had succeeded in protecting Tazuna. She had looked after Sasuke and tended to his wounds. She had managed to motivate them with her screams – even if she didn't mean to. _

_The point is, she had never felt so much adrenaline and satisfaction. And now, sitting serenely with her team in a cosy teahouse, she had some time to reflect and feel good about herself for once. She deserved it. _

_Though her body begged for a rest after so much pressure, her mind whirled so fast she couldn't get a wink of sleep. So she settled for sipping her tea and pretending to be part of conversations with an occasional nod._

"_Right, Sakura?" Naruto suddenly interjected, a huge grin tugging the sides of his face as if had he exerted any more force his cheeks would explode._

_She looked from him to Sasuke, asking for help. He shrugged, turning his attention back to his bowl of rice. Sakura bit her lip, seeing the excitement in his eyes. "S-sure, uh… yeah," she replied weakly, mumbling and stuttering. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask, knowing fully that she had not been paying attention._

"_I knew it!" Naruto cried, jumping out of his seat to pump a fist into the air and kick his heels together._

"_How uncharacteristic of you," Kakashi observed quietly._

_Sakura instantly regretted ever agreeing to, or whatever she had done, Naruto's question. Or had it been a statement? She forced a crooked smile onto her face, cringing as the sheen from Naruto's teeth attempted to blind her sensitive green eyes._

"_I knew we were all best friends." Sakura twitched. She had just backed him up after he said they were best friends?_

"_What! No we are NOT, thanks very much!" she huffed, crossing her legs and turning away._

_Naruto's grin dropped to the floor, his eyes indicating that he was absolutely bewildered. "But, uh, you just said – "_

"_I wasn't listening! You speak too much," she stuck out her tongue light-heartedly, a soft smile playing on her lips. Sasuke seemed to sink lower into his corner of the room for a moment._

"_She has a point," he remarked absently. Naruto scrunched up his nose at him._

"_Ah, what'd'you know." The blond readjusted his jacket, which had rode up revealing a plump stomach, and popped back into his seat, knees parallel with his ears in a seemingly uncomfortable – but perfectly snug – position._

_Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, slowly putting down his bowl and resting his chopsticks on their holsters. As he leant back and cleared his throat, the three genin came to attention, sensing he was preparing to make a quick announcement._

"_The three of you are a team." He paused, looking over them, slightly bemused by their expectant faces. He decided to leave it at that for a bit._

_They waited. And waited. Naruto growled. "Ah, we already knew that! My soup is getting cold now thanks to you, Kakashi-sensei."_

"_I wasn't done, be patient." Naruto folded his arms and pouted beneath the puff of orange clothing covering his mouth. "The three – "_

"_Of us are a team, what's your point?" Sasuke interrupted._

_Kakashi glared at him, affronted by the fact that his team didn't respect him. "My point is that you will be together for a long time, right?"_

"_Hopefully, if we're lucky and he doesn't die," he replied idly, jerking a thumb in the general direction of Naruto. A couple of insulting comments were flung towards the Uchiha before Kakashi took over once more._

"_Right, so you should get to know each other better. Hang out more. You really _should_ be best friends." _

_Sakura mused to herself, thinking he was only saying that to get his bratty, annoying team to stop bugging him. She said so, too. "On the contrary," he replied patiently, "it's only because I have made such mistakes in the past about not caring about my teammates. You should learn not to make the same mistakes as I."_

_Nobody really spoke after that. His words had hit Sakura pretty hard._

_It was true, she had never seen Kakashi hanging around any old teammates or a squad of any kind. She had thought at first that he was really anti-social, but that was already obvious enough. He always acted like his genin's were more important than his own life, too, so the fact that he had messed up in the teamwork area way back when he was low-ranked hadn't even occurred to her. _

_But it made sense; it was the biggest thing he worried about – EVER – and he was always praising Naruto when he looked after his team. _

_Perhaps his team no longer wanted anything to do with him because of what he did? Or maybe… maybe their lives had been the consequence of his actions._

_That was why she had decided to visit Naruto in his room that night._

_Three quick raps. That was what she executed on the door, requesting entrance into his quarters. "Come in," he yelled without hesitation. Obviously Naruto wasn't aware of the dangers of giving permission to just anyone into his room, but she pushed that thought aside and strolled in. She was determined to get to know Naruto better and learn to love him more._

_He was recumbent on his bed… next to Sasuke? Why the hell was Sasuke lying next to him?_

_It wasn't a weird sort of lying down, it was the comfortable sort of chilling-out-and-just-talking lying down next to each other, where there was enough distance between them for it not to be uncomfortable for either or any onlookers. It was just the fact that Sasuke was actually in the same room as the blond without causing unwanted trouble that bothered her._

"_Sasuke?" she gasped aloud. "Why are you in here?"_

_He raised an eyebrow from his place lying flat on his back: his head was rolling along the sides of the bed, upside down, and strands of his hair brushed against the carpet. It was weird seeing him so calm and, well, at peace. "I didn't realise I couldn't be," he murmured._

_She blushed. "N-no, that's not what I meant! It's just…" her eyes averted to her bare feet, fingers fiddling and dancing around once another. His gaze almost pierced through her soul, a penetrating beam that was able to get into anyone's head, she presumed. Well, that's how it felt._

_Sasuke never actually showed compassion towards anyone, but he had a way of getting them to tell him what he wanted to know, and not necessarily needed to know. She shuddered remembering the time he had simply glanced at her and she had stuttered one of her most embarrassing secrets involving Ino, some paint, and a very boring day. _

"_It's just I didn't expect to see you… here… with him…" she gestured weakly to the blond playing absent-mindedly with his nails. _

_Sasuke sat up straight, quickly glimpsing from Naruto to Sakura and shuffling his bottom to lean on the closest wall. "Would you like some privacy?" he asked innocently._

"_What – no! No, no, no that's not what I, er…" she covered her face, embarrassed and ashamed by her stupidity. Naruto blushed and tried to hit him with a lamp, earning the blond a chakra-enhanced slap to the back of his head. _

_She murmured to herself while groggily scuttling towards the edge of his bed and sitting down with a huff. "I wanted to get to know you guys more… like what Kakashi said."_

_The boys cast each other sideways glances. "That's what we were doing, too."_

_Sakura craned her neck to look at Naruto, who had only just talked for the first time. "Really?"_

_He smiled. "Duh, why else would we be in the same room?" He flapped his hands as if the whole idea was ridiculous, and Sasuke nodded in silent agreement._

"_I don't want to fail any missions simply because I am unfamiliar with the two of you, or you do something I was unable to predict. I'm going to be more perceptive." Sasuke leant back on his hands, staring at the ceiling boredly._

_Naruto snorted, squinting his eyes. "Tell me, can you even say a sentence without mentioning yourself?" His face was then met with a pillow. "Selfish bastard…"_

"_Why do you think Kakashi said those things?" Sakura asked._

_Sasuke shrugged. "Probably because I didn't say we're friends."_

"_There you go again. It wasn't just your fault, Sasuke! Let us take the blame sometimes, everything is always about you," Naruto whined._

_Sakura rolled her eyes. "I think it's because he thinks we need to be friends, too."_

_Naruto suddenly decided he agreed, too, and the three of them tried their best to get to know one another a little more. _

_Naruto seemed to know a little too much about Sakura's personal life, and Sakura seemed to know a little too much about Sasuke's being in general. However, Sasuke learnt a great deal about the both of them; apparently, Sakura didn't try to be so useless all the time, she was super smart, had other interests besides stalking him and annoying him to no end, could actually voice her opinion without getting intimidated, and that she was pretty nice. She was absolutely nothing like he thought. _

_He learnt plenty about Naruto, such as the fact that his favorite ramen is from Ichiraku's ramen shop, his favorite flavour of ramen, what chopsticks he liked best, which brand he liked of the two minute cooking ramen, and much more ramen related details. Naruto was exactly like he had expected._

_Naruto didn't seem interested in Sasuke's details, and neither did the Uchiha feel very happy about sharing them. The only thing they learnt about Sasuke was that he loved tomatoes and was very secluded. They had pretty much figured out the latter._

_Sakura learnt the most of everyone. Mostly because she was not paying attention to the words they spoke, but their features and reactions. She got plenty more out of their casual conversations than their life stories._

_Sasuke blinked very often. Perhaps it was just a habit, but she had read somewhere that the more people blink the more tears they have shed. He also made plenty of sarcastic and mocking expressions whenever he didn't like what someone said, mainly using his lips to create them. He was right handed, looked to his right whenever he was embarrassed or uncomfortable and his most used expressions were not 'hn' and 'loser', but in fact 'tch' and eyebrow raising._

_Naruto was very restless and couldn't stay in one position for very long. He always laughed louder and longer than needed when someone made a joke or he found something funny, and his eyes didn't squint as much as she had once thought. His favorite color actually wasn't orange, like she had assumed, but blue. The exact opposite of the color he chose to wear daily. Whenever he got nervous or embarrassed, he would raise a finger to his lip and scratch his chin while looking down towards the right. He usually sat cross legged and liked having time to get his opinion out where people would listen. He actually thrived on attention, something he mustn't have gotten much of while being younger._

"_You know," Sasuke suddenly voiced during a silent moment, sighing deeply as if what he were about to say would suffer dire consequences, "I actually like you guys."_

_Her eyes widened. "R-really?"_

_He looked to the right – uncomfortable – and ruffled the back of his hair. "Yes. But don't let that get to your head, alright, because – "_

_He didn't get to finish, due to being dragged off the bed and onto the floor by his two grinning and giggling teammates. He let out a pained groan as he was crushed underneath a game of stax-on they decided to play, laughing all the way. Sasuke was lying flat on his stomach groaning and complaining and Sakura was on top of him next to Naruto, but she was pretty sure he was laughing along with them._

"_Friends indeed!" she cried happily as she pointed her index finger towards the roof playfully, impersonating a British accent._

_Life was good._

Life was a lie.

It was enough to make even the strongest of kunoichi hesitate in killing the enemy.

"There you are!" Weno threw a kunai straight towards her, which she dodged with ease. He didn't seem experienced enough to be going on such a tough mission. He was fighting one of the legendary ninja that killed Madara. The kunoichi that delivered the final blow. She had literally defeated the leader of Akatsuki and the person that started the Fourth Great Ninja War. She trained under Tsunade and was considered the best kunoichi in the Leaf Village, and possible the whole world.

Perhaps they had been unaware of that.

Sakura waited until he had turned away from her, searching for her presence once again. She was about to knock him out, when he did something. Something that made her breath catch in her throat. Something that made her choke back a river of tears. Something that made her gut wrench and made her whole body tremble.

Weno crossed his arms and smirked. "Hn."

He didn't. But he did. He stood there, with an air of arrogance, and grunted as if he were superior. This had to be an illusion. This had to be a mirror image of her memories in another form. But no matter how many times Sakura attempted to release this genjutsu – tried to prove it was just some kind of dream – the Sasuke replica didn't disappear.

She dropped the canister of knockout gas, bringing a shaking hand to cover her mouth. She was crying. Quick, little wisps of air entered in and out of her lips as she tried to muffle the sound. It was uncontrollable and embarrassing. She was a ninja, for goodness' sake. A legendary one, too.

"Found you," a low voice whispered in her ear. A low voice that made butterflies flutter in her stomach and at the same time made her want to scream. Her heart pounded faster than ever before as she twirled around to face Weno. Her enemy? Her love? Or were they one?

No, that was stupid.

For some reason, what she had just witnessed had made her think. Think of Sasuke, of course, but really wonder. Was Sasuke that great? There had to be millions of others like him that weren't as bat-crazy and inconsiderate. Millions of others that were just as attractive (okay, well, maybe just a couple hundred that were that hot). Millions of others that were nicer, happier, kinder and cared more than he ever would. Was Sasuke anything like she thought he was? Had he _ever_ been anything like she thought he was?

She pondered all of that just by seeing Weno grunt. Just the way Sasuke used to, as if he had rehearsed a scene of a play, getting the character precisely correct.

Sasuke had changed. He wasn't the same, and he never would be the same, and he never would love her, nor would he ever love anyone the way she had imagined he could. Sasuke was Sasuke. But this guy was Weno.

"Yeah, too bad for you, you did!" Sakura elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to gasp and fall backwards. Before he did, however, Sakura threw a paperbomb directly where he would soon make contact and disappeared into the trees. She ran as far from Weno as she could, her hair whipping her cheeks and making them red, without looking back, and nose-dived behind a cluster of trees for cover.

She didn't look back, because she may have been tempted to save the Sasuke that wasn't Sasuke. Because she had never actually known Sasuke at all, she had known a handsome gentleman her mind created when she was only ten years old. The ground shook – well, the floating land shook from the impact of the bomb, but Sakura didn't move. She wasn't startled. She didn't even check to see if the enemy was dead. Her mind had consumed her attention in a whole.

She leant against a tree, panting lightly and staring at the ground. That had been an easy fight. Strangely enough, she didn't feel guilty about having an advantage over such a poorly prepared shinobi. He had attacked her, not the other way around, so the twerp had brought it on himself.

She sighed. _Sasuke…_

It turns out she had never stopped living a lie, after all.

What a revelation. Sure, she still loved Sasuke dearly. With all her heart.

But which one did she love? The real Sasuke who would throw away all his responsibilities and friends to gain power and revenge? The Sasuke who would destroy his home, his _clan's_ home, all in the name of vengeance? The place he had grown up in initially? The Sasuke that was naïve and believed everything he heard, never changing his mind again until something drastic happened? The Sasuke that existed? The _real _Sasuke Uchiha that everyone, for some odd reason, still adored?

Or did she love the Sasuke that didn't exist? The one that regretted his mistakes, the one that secretly loved her back, the one that was loyal to Konoha? The one she _wanted_ to be real. The one she had created. The one that serenaded her in her fantasies and someday would propose, where they would be happy for the rest of their lives and restore the Uchiha clan and live happily ever after? The Sasuke that told her she was beautiful every day and loved her endlessly? The pretend Sasuke Uchiha whom nobody knew but her?

She would have to find out, for her sanity's sake.

She pushed up off the ground maladroitly, stopping halfway through. A shooting pain ran down her leg. Glancing down, she noticed that there were multiple thorns stuck into her thigh. Her eyes widened, but the shocked expression slowly morphed into one of amusement.

Apparently, she hadn't been the only one that was underestimated. Though Weno was indeed dead now, he had managed to pitch in his final revenge in his last moments.

_What a Sasuke thing to do_, she thought. And how odd of her not to have paid attention.

"Get the hell out of here you dumb frog!" Sounded like Naruto was done, too. And he seemed to be nearby. Hadn't he noticed the paperbomb? Maybe the impact had seemed larger than it really was. Still, it had been enough to kill pitiful little Weno.

How… un-Sasuke-ish. At least she could hold onto that thought for solace.

"N…Naruto…" she called, still waking up from her enlightenment. Things like that really open your eyes.

"Sakura? Hey, Sakura, are you okay?" Naruto was by her side as quick as a flash. His Sage Mode has sought out her chakra through all the underbrush and trees, and now she was being cradled lightly in his arms. His eyes were filled with concern and his warm hand caressed her sore thigh. It wasn't weird, though. She knew he was just concerned for her safety, something Sasuke never had done.

_That's not true_, she thought rebelliously. _There have been countless times Sasuke rushed to my rescue or worried about me. Like when we fought Gaara all that time ago._

_So maybe Sasuke had been the Sasuke in my mind once, but being away from Konoha for three years changed his mindset._ But Sakura knew that people never changed.

But if people never changed, maybe Sasuke still was the Sasuke she used to know. The one that made snide comments but was a joy to have around, the one that secretly loved his teammates and village. With that thought, she decided that she was going to remind Sasuke who he really was. _Her_ Sasuke.

"Heelllooo…?" Naruto's face was only inches from hers, his hot breath brushing her face. Suddenly, all color drained from his features. "Oh no, she's dead! Ew, I'm touching a dea – "

"Naruto, ever heard of personal space?" she screeched, punching him in the head. He fell back with a startled yell, legs sticking unceremoniously in the air. "Sheesh. I can look after myself, y'know. And I would hope that if I had died you would be less worried about germs and more worried about me!"

She shook her head disbelievingly, slowly uncurling her leg in preparation to heal the wound. It only stung a little bit, and she looked after people all the time so she was sure it wouldn't take long to heal.

And hopefully she could look after Sasuke, too. He needed it more than anyone. That's what doctors were for, right? To help people? So that was her job. She would heal his heart and mind by showing him the love he needed and remind him who he was. Hopefully he would eventually recall.

"Hey, Sakura, there's a cut in your leg," Kakashi remarked lamely, leaning casually up against a tree with a limp carcass hanging off of a branch above.

-x-

**Tada! Boy that was long. Hope you enjoyed. Sorry if it's **_**too**_** long.**


	16. Sixteen: Nostalgia Part 3

**Kakashi's fight commences!**

**Read I Back 2 December, Inuyonas, Hana-01 and Lanky Nathan because they are where it's at home dogg. Word up. PEACE.**

…

**I am very bad at battle scenes so tell me if I sucked. You may have noticed I am also very bad when it comes to hoodrat lingo, or whatever the hell **_**that**_** was. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I do own this plot… and Edena. I always have owned them.**

**-x-**

Ganno and Sutari. They looked quite strong, maybe the second strongest pair in the large group of enemies. It seemed that the strongest had gone after Sasuke, which meant that the Uchiha was the prize they were after for sure. Kakashi didn't know why, that was all he had so far.

They were both buff and their outfits of fishnet and cargo pants matched in color.

But that wasn't what interested him. It was the way they both seemed to be in sync. If Ganno moved, Sutari moved. Was there a magnetic force holding them together that they could use to their advantage? But Sutari's movements still seemed a little more rehearsed and unnatural compared to Ganno's. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about Sutari that made him look a little less human than the other guy.

Even though they appeared to be identical twins.

Both had long blond hair held in ponytails and deep brown eyes. Their skin was the same tone of burnt orange making them look like little girls' dolls or carrot figurines. Sutari would look just like Ganno to the untrained eye, and Kakashi would have been fooled had it not been for his Sharingan.

There was something off, though, something that only a Kekkei Genkai like the Sharingan or Byakugan could have picked up on first sight. Sutari's eyes were blank and emotionless and glossy, like the dead unseeing eyes of a corpse.

"That's some puppet you have there, very convincing," Kakashi drawled lazily, as if fighting the two of them was going to be easy as counting to three. He knew not to underestimate the enemy, but he also knew that he was a capable ninja himself. Leaning on his left leg with one hand on his hip, he pretended to show little interest in the enemies to see if they were hot-headed or not. Just to add to the effect, he flipped open his weapon's pouch and started reading Makeout Tactics from where he had left off last time.

The ill-tempered enemies were always the easiest to take out when things got out of hand. Just taunt them while you're tied up or outsmart them and make it look easy and they would usually become more impulsive and sloppy with their attacks.

Ganno's eyes widened in surprise, but the emotion was quickly sucked away. "I see. A bloodline trait, eh? My, I was informed all the Uchiha had been killed." Sutari's shoulders squared at the same time Ganno's did. "Looks like my sources were wrong. Guess we'll have to take the last one out. Wouldn't want our sources being unreliable."

"Sources? Been keeping an eye on the village, then, have we?" the Jonin goaded.

Ganno closed his eyes, a sly smile slowly creeping onto his face. "Yes… we'll just have to fix that, then," he continued, as if Kakashi had never spoken. Kakashi smirked, getting into a battle stance. He was going to let the other guys go first to test their abilities.

Ganno flicked his wrist, sending Sutari running towards the Jonin at lightning speed. So it _was_ a puppet, and he was using chakra ropes to move him. Nothing new or original or difficult to defeat…

Or so he thought.

If Kakashi hadn't been near a tree at the time, he wouldn't have been able to escape through the underbrush in the small forest area nearby. Everyone else on his team had already dispersed, and he was left in the large clearing near the entrance to the village. Kakashi was sure that the puppet had followed his shadow clone into the forest, but was quickly proven wrong when an artificial fist swung for his ankle in an attempt to knock him out of the branch. He swivelled on his heels, ducking, and sent his leg back over his head into the doll behind him, landing rather expertly on his palms.

The first problem arose; that puppet was _fast_. Faster than Kakashi, that was for sure. Even though he had not been hit, he knew that if he used his Sharingan too much and didn't defeat the enemy in time, he would be in trouble. The Sharingan was the only way he could actually _see_ the enemy, what with the mass speed.

The puppet was also very skilled in taijutsu. Before he knew it, 'he' was engaging all of Kakashi's senses in an all-out, hand-to-hand combat, battle to the death. Never had he been so grateful for Gai's eternal rivalry. Actually, this was the first time he had ever been grateful to be able to spar with a taijutsu specialist almost every free day he got at all.

Sutari aimed for his face three times with hands that actually looked realistic, thankfully slowed down by his Sharingan enough for him to be able to see the pattern in his movements. Left, right, right again; much like the stiff movements of all other puppets.

His trained eye noticed the enemy's leg tense, indicating he was going to go for a kick to the head. It also indicated that this puppet was no ordinary puppet. Not made of wood, but something softer… something that reacted like real human skin. Were there chakra strings running through the body as well? That was all that could explain the sudden tension in the leg.

Kakashi ducked right before Sutari's unusually tender leg could connect with his skull, sending a Lightning Blade towards its stomach and its puppet-man body hurdling backwards.

That was when the second problem arose. Kakashi had almost forgotten about his other foe, whom appeared behind him in a swirl of flames and threw a blazing, red-hot hand into Kakashi's back. He combined fire style and taijutsu – that was smart and dangerously effective, but not enough to defeat Kakashi.

Fire style meant he would have to use the opposite element. He had managed to substitute himself with a log before the impact, wasting no time in activating a jutsu. After several hand signs, Kakashi created two giant creatures from the water behind him, sitting atop a tree.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" he cried, bringing an arm to cover his eyes from the droplets of salt water that separated from the giant dragons.

For a few moments everything seemed to shake around; the ground cracked and raging water attacked everything in sight. Trees were knocked down left, right and centre. Kakashi had to jump back a few feet to avoid the aftermath of water that bounced back to attack him. It swirled, almost in a whirlpool, before settling down just enough for the remainder of the island to be visible.

A few stray branches and stones were pushed beneath the Jonin by a wave of water, drawing back again to reveal branches, trunks and shrubs ripped and shredded across the ground. But there was no sign of the two enemy ninja, not even the recently damaged puppet. Had he been rescued by Ganno? Or was Kakashi's jutsu not enough to take Sutari out?

Kakashi was forced to jump right into the flood of water that was still raging uncontrollably in the middle of a small clearing when three large eagles made of fire swooped towards him. Diving into the water for cover, everything around him sizzled and his skin was scorched when the eagles flew beak-first into the surface after him.

Kakashi squinted to see when they were gone, both eyes now fully visible, holding his breath until he was sure they were no longer there. His breath was now jagged, heartbeat accelerating and head spinning in an attempt to find a solution. But how could he find a solution to something he did not understand?

He jumped out quickly, dodging and throwing a few kunai when the ninja once again reared their heads. Ganno was running through the trees to his right, making hand signs. Sutari disappeared into the trees. Ganno prepared his attack: a fire jutsu.

Three fire whips blazed in his hand. They were long and lashed out at everything in sight, cutting branches and burning everything in the general vicinity. Kakashi quickly created a water wall using a jutsu he had copied from Rain Ninja back when he was about twenty, attempting to block the fire weapons. The whips cut through the water wall, but the liquid managed to make them weak enough for Kakashi to break them with earth style clones.

His chakra was hardly strained, but apparently theirs was of high levels also. Kakashi could feel his body straining. He was older and the years had started to catch up with him, only recently. Tsunade and him had chatted about how his bones were being ground to powder slowly with each battle he took part in, and if it continued, he wouldn't be able to walk at the age of fifty. He'd figured he'd have to make the best of the time he had, against Tsunade's advice, rather than never fight again.

This fight was not going to be as easy as he had anticipated, though.

Ganno appeared to be at a loss. It was revealed to be a façade, however, when Sutari launched at him from behind with more fire whips. That meant they shared the same jutsu, much like other puppet masters. There was still something odd about these two, though. Sutari seemed more human than puppet, but he was clearly inanimate. What was going on? He didn't know.

Kakashi dodged him with ease, sidestepping then using more earth style clones to attack him head on. They engaged in intense taijutsu, the two Kakashi's barely missing Sutari's head with chakra enhanced kicks. Finally, one of their fists made contact after the other Kakashi did several head spins and used his legs to kick Sutari in the back of the torso three times between his shoulder blades, a known sensitive spot. That only served to make Kakashi even more curious, because puppets were supposed to be immune to pain – Sutari gagged.

Sutari was knocked off his feet and sent flying back fifteen meters, rolling uncontrollably and stopping as his face ground into the dirt.

Ganno attacked the real Kakashi from behind, using fire eagles again. Fire seemed to be his main element, which suited Kakashi fine since he had plenty of water jutsu to counteract them with.

He created another water wall with the remaining water from his Water Dragon jutsu, which had settled down and was forming a small wading pool that reached the middle of his calves, blocking the fire birds as they evaporated. Just pure fire in the form of an animal.

Ganno froze for a few moments, allowing Kakashi to trap him with several earth clones and attacking him from all angles. They charged at him, full throttle, with Lightning Blades sparking in each of their hands.

That was when the next problem arose. Ganno didn't move at all. In fact, one would think that Ganno wanted them all to attack him. Kakashi cursed under his breath, swivelling on his heels only to find that Sutari's body was gone. Had Ganno retrieved it? No, he was busy being bombarded by earth clones.

So how had it moved?

The Copy Ninja quickly dove for cover in the trees, in the hopes that he would have time to think up a battle plan. Unfortunately, Ganno and Saturi seemed to have known he would do that and were waiting for him, fire whips lashing furiously.

Kakashi soon realised he would have to escape with his _Mangekyo_ Sharingan if he were going to survive this battle and still have enough energy left to attack Kabuto.

Kakashi sighed, removing his mask from his left eye. Things would be much less exciting now, but there were more important things to think about at the moment.

And that was when he realized what was going on. Ganno and Sutari were one person.

His Mangekyo didn't sense and chakra rope connecting one with the other. That would have normally left anyone completely baffled, since there was no way to use a puppet unless chakra was between them.

This time, with his Mangekyo activated, Kakashi saw through the illusion. Sutari had been the supposed puppet at first – the second that the 'real' body began taking all the damage, which would have killed any normal foe, it froze up, almost as if giving up. It hadn't given up, though; simply switched suits.

The soul, or whatever it may have been, inside of Ganno's body quickly transferred to the body of Sutari when it was clear he was going to die. How he did it Kakashi was still unsure, but that was absolute fact. This meant that whoever occupied the shells of the two puppets would go on living in the other body, and continue to fight while the puppet repaired itself.

And now that Kakashi had guessed it, he could defeat them easily.

"This is where you made your mistake," Kakashi jeered emotionlessly, crating super-fast hand signs that were too swift to see. Neither Ganno or Sutari seemed to understand, they just lashed their whips towards the Jonin, which he dodged easily.

"Really, is that it? How disappointing." Kakashi started hopping backwards, pretending to be dodging the flames of their fire whips that cracked treacherously close to his back.

_Just a bit closer…_

Kakashi hopped one branch higher than the both of them, waiting until they were directly beneath him. He charged two Lightning Blades in both of his hands, then pierced them through both of his enemy's skulls.

Now where could be turn? No more bodies to escape to.

-x-

_Meanwhile_…

Edena rushed behind a bush, deciding she would ditch the Konoha ninjas and escape. It wasn't her problem if they survived or not. Besides, Kabuto's ninja wanted to kill her – not that they could, but there was always the risk that she was captured by him again.

Feet colliding with dangerously powerful impact on the weak trees, she zoomed through the dense forest until she could smell the ocean and hear waves crashing on the sand. She was about to swim for it until she reached land, when something inside her chest tugged.

_Sasuke… would he be… okay? _Edena was lost in her thoughts for a moment, staring blankly at the point where the ocean hugged the horizon, then shook her head in disgust. What was this she was feeling? Certainly nothing for the arrogant pig Uchiha, right?

Right. She didn't need reassurance.

Or did she?

No, she certainly didn't.

She was going to head back towards land, like she had been planning to do all along, and run away while she still had a chance at living a free, rogue life. No connections to some useless village, no other people slowing her down. Smooth sailing, all the way…

…all the lonesome way.

But of course, she knew she didn't need anyone but her brother.

She swore she knew.

And yet, at that moment, she twirled carelessly on her heels and began sprinting back the way she came, retarded flailing-leg running style and all.

-x-

What was that disgusting, sour smell?

Sasuke knew he had encountered it before, yet the name slipped from his mind just when he actually cared to know. It made him feel a bit nostalgic… and not in a good way. The nostalgia was sickening, like a bad memory.

He was standing in the middle of a clearing, waiting for his opposition to reveal themselves. The forest floor was littered with crunchy leaves even though it was spring. The air was still, the fauna quiet, as if every animal had decided to flee the scene – as if they had known there would be a battle.

A thin mist was starting to form, a thin mist that carried with it the taste of bark and iron.

What was that ghastly smell?

_Flashback…_

_Some kind of medicinal herbs…? Was that what he held?_

_Kabuto was hunched over his desk, barely lifting his head when Sasuke sauntered in. "Orochimaru told me to come," he explained monotonously._

"_Have a seat," Kabuto murmured, almost dismissing his presence. Sasuke wasn't too pleased with the amount of disrespect Kabuto had shown to him since he arrived – he acted like he knew something Sasuke didn't, arrogant. It bothered him to no end._

_Sasuke glanced around. Kabuto's room was very bare; pale grey walls and ceramic tile floor, a rickety table with one leg too short stacked with books and test tubes, and a lone chair sitting right in the middle. The entire scene was a little ominous._

_He hovered cautiously inside the doorframe. He had made his choice to come to this place, however, and shook all sense of dread from his mind as he slowly walked towards the steel chair. _

Don't go in there. Something isn't right. That smell isn't right, _his head was telling him. But Sasuke had realized long ago that his head didn't like a whole bunch of the things he did, anyway, such as leaving the village, and decided to be rebellious and ignore the feeling of impending doom that overwhelmed him the second he sat._

_A simple smell? What could be wrong with that? There was nothing wrong about it, Kabuto's room probably smelled off because he made so many elixirs and medicines in there._

_Kabuto's back stiffened the exact moment he seated himself, and he glanced over his shoulder, finger pushing his glasses back towards the bridge of his nose. "Excellent…"_

_The room was deadly still. A few old papers scattered across the ground were the only signs of nature in the room, and a small lamp dangling dangerously from a few measly wires rocked back and forth against a non-existent breeze. Everything seemed fine._

_A little too fine. The silence was too loud – Sasuke could usually hear stifled screams through the walls. It was almost as if all operations in the Sound Village had been halted for this very moment. _

_A second later, Sasuke's arms and legs were being held stalwartly to the chair – which was conveniently bolted to the floor – by dark emerald snakes, cutting off his blood supply. His heart thudded in his ears, slowly rising into his throat. "W-what is this?" he demanded shakily._

_Deep, rumbling laughter that slowly reached a crescendo haunted him from every corner of the room. It seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at once, when black clouds swirled just beyond his feet. Sasuke could feel his body writhing against the tight grip of the reptiles. _

"_Sasuke, how nice of you to join us," the voice cooed. It was a very familiar voice, the voice of the person he had been training with for only two weeks so far. The unnerving, libidinous voice of Orochimaru._

_Sasuke suddenly felt a pinch of courage. He often stood up to the meek old man. "Bastard, release me right now, unless you want to suffer the conseq – " but that was as far as he got before someone, or something, started breathing on his neck. He blinked, and a second later Orochimaru was no longer in front of him, but behind him holding some sort of tube with a mask on the end._

_His throat tightened. What was going on? Had he fallen willingly into a trap? Did Orochimaru never actually intend on giving him power, just killing him? Why would he want to do that? To possess his body once he was dead? Was Sasuke already as strong as Orochimaru desired?_

"_You're shivering. You are scared." It wasn't a question. His throat began to burn, vision blotched with inky white spots._

_Sasuke refused to answer – or, so he told himself, since he couldn't due to his throat being shut off._

"_Do it," Orochimaru ordered, voice abruptly low and firm, and Sasuke suddenly remembered that Kabuto was still in the room._

_He was staring emotionlessly at the Uchiha, head cradled in the crook of Orochimaru's elbow – almost a choke hold, but with less force. So that was why he couldn't speak._

_It took a moment for him to respond, but when he did, it was so fast Sasuke didn't see it. One moment Kabuto was in front of his desk, the next he was clamping the mask over Sasuke's mouth._

_He tried to scream, but Orochimaru's arm wouldn't allow it. What the hell was going on?_

"_Don't worry, it will be over nice and quick," Kabuto whispered hoarsely._

_Why hadn't he listened to his head? Just this once?_

_Suddenly, everything around him became blurry. Voices were muffled. His mind went blank._

_Something like air, but heavier, filled his lungs. _

_It smelled disgusting, sour, ghastly. What was that smell?_

_The mask – that was the smell. Something was oozing from the tube and invading his lungs, trying to put him to sleep._

_As if it didn't matter to Kabuto if Sasuke felt anything, the grey-haired man dug a scalpel into his arm. Sasuke could tell Kabuto was struggling. Orochimaru's voice boomed louder, though the words held no meaning. They were simply words he couldn't decipher, as if his ears had been blocked with wax._

_Had Kabuto missed his target? Had they actually been trying to kill him?_

_The pain didn't process. He felt nothing. So they had strapped this thing to his mouth so he would not feel pain – but he had still felt the knife penetrate his skin. _

_Shuffling of feet. Harsh, sharp words. Many torturous, ignorant minutes. After what seemed a week in his state, Sasuke felt something cool and hard being inserted into his forearm, pushed lower until it reached his wrist. The feeling made him cringe. He knew that if it wasn't for the gas-thing taped to his mouth, it would have felt excruciating. The thought made his skin crawl._

_The object felt like a small rectangle, hard and sharp. It seemed to be cutting some blood vessels as it continued its way down. Kabuto was healing the wound as if his life depended on it._

_Who knows? Maybe if Sasuke died Orochimaru _would_ kill him._

_The gash in his arm closed, Kabuto released his grip and stopped healing, and Orochimaru checked Sasuke's temperature. Judging from the tone of his voice, nothing too serious._

_Did they do this sort of thing often? What sick people they were._

_Sasuke had a sudden urge to scream. He was being completely violated – he had no idea what was happening, who was handling him, what time it was, why he was there – almost like it was like a bad dream._

_Heavy footsteps retreated in unison, and Sasuke knew he was alone. The last time he had been this scared, his family had been killed._

_What were those guys doing? What was going on? Why was everything going black?_

_And most of all, what the _hell_ was that disgusting, sour, ghastly smell?_

_End Flashback…_

Sasuke knew what the smell was now.

He remembered what had been happening to him that night. Orochimaru had been experimenting on him – not in the usual way he experimented on people, just adding something to the package, in a way. He had 'installed' a microchip into Sasuke's veins, one that made him feel less, think less and kill more. It made him want to kill.

It gave him the desire to destroy. Exactly the sort of tool Orochimaru needed until his reanimation.

-x-

**Has anyone else noticed how many chopped logs there are in the Narutoverse? They are conveniently placed, too. Plenty for never-ending substitution jutsu's.**

**Hm… **

**Eh, this is about… 900 words less than usual. But you can deal, right? I'm not procrastinating, either, just a bit of writers block. At least I got this out there.**

**I'm not really happy with this chapter, but I'll let you decide if you liked it or not… actually, I'm kind of lost with this story at the moment. I know what's going to happen but I have to go through all this stuff first to get there. Damn, why did I set it up like that? Grr…**


	17. Seventeen: Déjà vu

Seventeen:

**Oh my goodness, please forgive! If anyone is still subscribed to this story, I have no real excuse for not writing. My writing skills have gotten a little rusty, so bear with me! I apologise profusely!**

**If this chapter moves too fast, I am so sorry! I've almost forgotten what I was supposed to be doing with this story and I can't find my outline anywhere. **

**-x-**

The sky was darkening; grey clouds loomed. A storm was underway. The day was announcing itself to be a terrible one all over again, like a warning sent form Heaven. It was telling the three ninja to get out of harm's way; take cover, find shelter. Too bad Kakashi didn't believe in credulous things like bad omens.

Sai was slightly more aware of the premonition, however. After several visits to the library, he's come across more than twenty books on auguries and superstition. It was a rather fascinating topic, he found. He could feel the edge on the weather, the dreadful feeling welling inside him. Pressure built up in his plastered arm. The local birds had all escaped the scene, following their instincts. Today was a bad day to go on a mission, even a simple one.

Sakura's wound was healed; Kakashi got rid of the carcass he carried (reason unknown) all the way from his battlefield and Naruto had gotten over his irritation towards Gamatatsu. He didn't fail to grouse about losing his stolen snack to the toad's endless munchies, though. Sai defeated his foes rapidly, which struck a nerve for all other team members, especially since he was handicapped. They assumed he had received the weakest of the enemies.

"Come to think of it, the weirdo's I was fighting were pretty weak, too," Naruto noted, scratching the side of his face.

"Same here," Sakura huffed. Weno hardly could be called a threat, especially against someone as skilled as her. He hadn't even shown any skilled jutsu. "I got rid of him easily. My injury wasn't even bad – he didn't have enough time to poison the weeds he used for his attack." That was odd, too – not many ninja chose to fight using plants, simple because they were often easy to break. So it was odd that he hadn't at least poisoned his weapon of choice. The only logical reason could be that he wasn't skilled enough to do even that.

"My enemies weren't very challenging, either," Kakashi murmured. "Persistent, no doubt, but simple to take down." Something wasn't right. All ninja on their squad had been gratified for their success in the ninja war. Surely their enemies had known who they were. The fact that Kabuto was involved instantly lead to Sasuke's presence being in danger. The Jounin inspected his surroundings for what felt like the hundredth time. Again, he confirmed that there were no more enemies waiting to ambush them. Why would a skilled battle tactician like Kabuto conduct a plan so feeble? "Naruto, Sakura, where is Sasuke? And Edena? I haven't heard from them yet and I can't sense their chakra." Kakashi asked hurriedly, still keeping his voice level.

The two glanced at each other. Neither had taken note of their absence until now. The subtle urgency in Kakashi's voice let everyone know something was happening – and that they needed to stop it. "We'll search for him," Sai decided, reaching into his backpack for his scroll and ink paintbrush.

"Them," Kakashi corrected sternly. Sai looked away sheepishly. "I'm aware that you are not as familiar with Edena as you are with Sasuke, but she is still a member of our team, though only temporarily. It should be your top priority to help find _both_ of them."

"Right!" Sakura and Naruto said in unison.

The four ninja split up, Sakura and Naruto deciding to stay closer to each other during the search. Naruto was determined to find him. _I won't lose you again, Sasuke_, he promised.

Sai released teams of mice into the forest. Kakashi waited until his students were on the move to pull out his trump card. "Super Beasts Imitation Picture," Sai murmured, creating his trademark ink bird for aerial scouting.

"Summoning Jutsu!" The Jounin slapped his palm flat on the forest floor, creating thick, white smoke. Once the haze cleared, sleeping Pakkun was in its place, sprawled on the floor in what seemed like a comfortable position for a dog to be in – head on paws, hind legs by his side. His eyes fluttered open and he blinked several times to remove the sleep form his eyes.

"Hey, Kakashi. What brings me here, to this ominous looking forest, during my break?" he yawned, rubbing under his eyes. Clearly he wasn't happy about being summoned during what the two of them had agreed would be nap time.

Kakashi knelt down to his level. "Sorry for the inconvenience, but we have an emergency. You'll have plenty of time to slack off later."

-x-

Edena had turned back to see if Sasuke was alright, and it was a good thing she did. The air was being filled with a strange drug in gas form. It smelled grungy and sour; spoiled. She couldn't get close enough to him without passing out, or whatever the drug's purpose was. If she tried to call out to him, the enemy would know her location and try to speed up the process of capturing him, which was no doubt their plan.

So Kabuto was after Sasuke. What for? For some reason, it infuriated Edena that Kabuto seemingly held no interest in her. He was the reason she was miserable. How dare he not remember her? This could prove to be an opportunity to exact her vengeance on Kabuto, too, if only she could follow these careless fools he hired to his location.

That also bothered her – why had Kabuto used such lame pawns? Perhaps they had a secret weapon? She needed to be cautious. Kabuto never did anything without having a plausible and no doubt diabolical reason for it.

"Lights out, sweetheart," someone growled from behind her, sending shivers down her spine. Oh crap. How could she not have noticed? The drug. The drug was blocking out her senses. But she had been sure not to get too close…

Edena's mind went blank as she slowly became a limp doll, falling head-first from the trees into the muddy ground below.

-x-

Chapter Seventeen: Nostalgia Part 4

-x-

Edena felt like a total loser. She was a failure. It was her fault that Sasuke was now never going to be trusted by Konoha again. That was another consequence the drug had. It made you feel worthless and vulnerable. Why Kabuto would use something like that to capture the Uchiha was beyond her.

Sasuke and Edena were tied together in a very dark room. Clearly whoever bound them wasn't concerned about their comfort. The partially frayed rope rubbed against her wrists, making her skin burn. There were no windows. No candles. Nothing. The world was silent. Edena couldn't tell the difference between having her eyes open or closed, surrounded by nothing but darkness. It added to the effect of worthlessness. For all she knew, Edena was in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but Sasuke to comfort her. He was tied to her back, though he was still out cold. They must have done something to him while she was unconscious. She vaguely remembered waking up briefly at some point to his screams. Hearing Sasuke scream was terrifying enough on its own. He was supposed to be the tough one, the guy that endured even the most excruciating pain. Whatever was I store for the two of them was no doubt going to be torture. She remembered calling out to him, which had made him stop, but she was soon put to sleep once more.

"Who's there?"

Edena jumped, stifling a squeal, stomach tightening in fright. Sasuke's voice was raspy and hoarse from lack of use. How long had they been out for? "I-It's Edena," she replied, after some time.

He took his time to respond. "Where are we?" he finally choked out. It sounded as if speaking proved to be difficult at the time. He must have been exhausted. Edena felt herself boiling with an unexpected rage. What had these people done to Sasuke? She didn't even need an answer – if they had hurt him, they deserved to feel the pain tenfold. She would tear them apart. The thought was enough to make the edge of her mouth twitch into a twisted smile. That's what friends were for… right?

"Good question…" She started thinking it was probably her fault they were lost, too. Damn it. Edena never put herself down. She loved everything there was to her – from her mild sociopathic tendencies to her eccentric behavior. She bit her lip as it started trembling. _Don't cry, don't cry… _Ninja didn't cry. They made note of the problem and looked for an answer, determined until the very last moment. Her eyes began burning. She was so confused. Why was she still alive if Kabuto held no use for her? Why was Sasuke so calm? Was she already dead? Nothing was making sense.

_Don't cry, don't cry…_ Two lonesome tears streaked down her cheeks and a small whine escaped her throat. _Don't cry… don't cry…_

"Don't cry." Sasuke's deep voice made her stomach flutter. He wasn't concerned, though. It was decisive and distinctly cold. Something was wrong.

"I'm not…"

"Weakness will only get you killed." Whoa. Where did that come from?

Edena felt anger burning inside her. It was a nice change from her endless wallowing in self-pity, even if just for a moment. She forgot about avenging Sasuke's pain, just for a few seconds. "What makes you think you can talk to me like that?"

"Shut up. They're coming back. We must escape." Blunt.

Edena could hardly believe her ears. How disrespectful and rude! And what did he mean, 'they're coming back'? Escape? Did Sasuke know where they were?

Edena had a feeling this wasn't the same Sasuke that sat on the rooftop with her only the night before.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded.

"Be quiet," Sasuke whispered gruffly, "I'll tell you everything."

-x-

Sasuke was awake, but at the same time he wasn't. He was being carried by a team of enemy ninja and he had no way of knowing where they were or remembering how to get back. His eyelids were too heavy to lift. All he wanted was sleep, but it still wouldn't come. He had a feeling he was supposed to be asleep at the moment, but his body had developed a high resistance to drugs and the full effect hadn't reached him.

Millions of thoughts whirred trough his mind. Thoughts on how to escape. Thoughts of Naruto and the others. Thoughts of failure. But for some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about his family. His family, killed because of Konoha. And now he was working with the horrible people that was wronged his entire clan in the past. Itachi's entire life had been a lie because of these people, along with his own, and he was helping them continue to wreck families across the earth. He was trying to win a community of selfish murderers over so he could live with them in peace, while thousands of others were killed. He was trying to make amends, when Konoha were the ones in the wrong. He didn't want to think these things. His mind was twisting the truth – he knew the Uchiha's had been ready to betray Konoha. Why was this happening? It had to be the drug.

The smell. The last time he had smelt it, he'd been transformed into a killing machine. His mind had become warped, and he had almost developed an entirely new personality. It was not going to happen again, if he could help it. He tried his best to think of Naruto, but all he could manage were thoughts of how he was always ahead. Naruto was always beating him. Naruto was a threat. One day, Naruto might actually become the Hokage of these villainous rustics, teaching their children to follow in the footsteps of centuries of evildoers. Konoha needed to be destroyed.

What was going on? His heart felt heavy, as if darkness was trying to drag it down to the soles of his feet. The darkness was trying to infiltrate his arteries, his veins, his cells down to the very core and consume him. The darkness wanted him back, but he had no room for it anymore.

The darkness would make room, it seemed.

Sasuke was dropped onto a metal table roughly. He could feel the cool surface on his skin, but the impact from the descent didn't process. Again, he was numb to pain but not to feeling completely.

Something wrapped forcefully around his ankles and wrists. It was just like three years ago, all over again. He was going to revert back to his old self. A large blade pierced him straight through his stomach, just grazing his spine. He felt no pain. It was frightening knowing that a foreign object was inside of him and his body couldn't acknowledge the agony. He felt the cool surface of the blade sliding past the walls of his stomach. It was disgusting, like a feral worm making a pathway through his body and wriggling against all his internal organs. Bile rose to his throat and escaped from the side of his lips, creating a pool of regurgitated liquid next to his head.

"Does it feel good, Sasuke?" Kabuto laughed. "Can you feel the dread building up in your bones? Can you sense the danger? I hope so. I want you to know that you are doomed. Be terrified!" He cackled like a mad man. It was enough to indicate he was insane, and no longer held any control over his lust for power. Much like Sasuke had been a few months ago.

He wanted to scream. He was being violated, again. The same negative thoughts still consumed him, distracting his mind from reality. He needed to focus on running away. He needed to complete his mission and go back to Konoha. After that, everything would be fine. It couldn't go wrong now! The stench of blood and vomit filled his nose. He wished that the drug had cut off his scent, feeling another round of barf build up.

Sasuke was panicking. There was nothing he could do. His body was unresponsive – his mind was slowly growing blank. He was slipping into unconsciousness. Warm liquid poured out from the newly made gash in his abdomen, pouring over the middle section of his body. It cooled against the metal table, making his skin cold.

There was a possibility he was going to die. Death didn't bother him. What worried Sasuke was what he would become if he survived.

"Is everything ready, Kabuto?" someone hissed. Sasuke's heart skipped a beat. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He ceased breathing altogether. Something was tugging at his throat, curling around it and tightening its grip. That low hissing voice, the one that had been the source of several nightmares, was Orochimaru's.

"Yes, Master. Once you are in his body, remember to get a feel of him before you try moving. We don't want a repeat of last time, now do we?" There was a long, uncomfortable pause between them. Kabuto was nervous. "If Sasuke manages to expel you once again, it will be a miracle, now that he's in this state," he added apprehensively.

Sasuke tried desperately to move. Anything. A twitch. Something to get him started. A simple movement would be enough, he just needed to move, get away. As far away as possible.

_Move! Move! Run! _

Teeth penetrated his chest. It surprised him, though he didn't feel the pain. All Sasuke felt was a pair of thin tubes sliding into his body, releasing hot venom through his system. The venom spread from his chest through to his arms, neck, shoulders – it consumed him, turning his freezing body instantly into a hotplate. The sudden change in temperature would have normally burned, but he could only feel warmth. There was no discomfort. At the same time, his stomach lurched and he vomited again, covering his face. He choked on the bile, felt it sting his eyes. There was nothing Sasuke could do about it with his arms limp. He was forced to endure; to leave himself helpless and pathetic under the Kabuto's wishes. The mutated man chuckled at him.

"Wipe it off," Orochimaru whispered.

He stopped laughing instantly. "Of course. We can't have his air supply cut off, now can we?"

If Kabuto wished for him to suffer, why was the result of the drug painlessness? Of course, Orochimaru didn't want to suffer while in his body.

Orochimaru was going to steal Sasuke's body. The information only just processed in his mind. He needed to escape, desperately, before he turned into a monster – again. He knew his body was in danger, so he had to be cautious when moving. There was a blade through his stomach. What for? Were they going to kill him first? Was that part of the procedure? Sasuke's heart began pumping faster.

Stay calm. If his heart beat faster, the poison spread quicker through his blood.

"Do it." The order was flat and decisive. Sasuke felt Kabuto jab him in the chest, right above the blade.

All his feeling returned at once. His stomach exploded into an intense wildfire, making his entire body tremor. The sudden jerking only intensified the pain. He felt as if he were going to black out. He couldn't breathe without needing to double over. Now that he could move again, he wanted nothing more than to be immobile. He screamed in anguish, writhing on the table against the objects tying him down.

"Hold him!" Orochimaru growled. Several hands clasped onto his body, though where they were coming from Sasuke didn't know. His eyes were still fixed closed. Another wave of pain seared through his flesh, and he yelled as loud as he could in an attempt to counteract the anguish he felt. His throat burned.

Images of his dead clan flew through his mind. He saw himself murdering Itachi, the only close relative he had left. He remembered the misery in his onyx eyes. He saw his reflection in their depths – he was smiling. He was smiling like a sadistic freak, watching his only brother die, the man that had loved him his entire life.

_This is who you are._

Naruto lay defeated by his hand, helpless and beaten in the Valley of the End. His first true friend. The boy that accepted him how he was. The kid he had always secretly admired, laughed with, wanted to be close to. He had betrayed him and left him. He had ruined the boy's life. After that, he'd become obsessed with taking Sasuke back to Konoha where he 'belonged'. Sasuke shunned him, mocked him, made him feel worthless, constantly ignored him and at some point dedicated himself to killing him. His best friend.

_This is who Sasuke is. _

That wasn't who Sasuke wanted to be. He would do anything to go back in time and correct his mistakes. He made so many. But that was impossible, he had already completed them. All those mistakes made up who he was. He was born to be hated, to be a traitor; a menace to society. Sasuke was a villain, the most abhorred throughout the country. That was who Sasuke Uchiha was.

_This is who I am. _

He could feel the weight of the darkness crushing his heart. The feeling was horrible, but at the same time he longed for it. The closer the darkness was, the less intense was the pain he felt. The darkness could be his savior, if he would just let it in…

"Sasuke! You'll be aright, just hang in there until Naruto gets here! We all believe I you!"

Who was that? That voice?

"Shut her up!" Orochimaru seethed. Edena struggled against them. She was there, too? Sasuke heard her gasp, and that was that.

"Take her somewhere else," Orochimaru murmured raucously. Or was it Kabuto? Only then did Sasuke see that the two were one. Kabuto was switching between two personalities.

"Come on, bitch," a gruff man laughed. Sasuke turned his head to the side as far as he could towards her voice, ignoring the stiffness of his neck and agony of movement. A large, dirty man slung her over his shoulder, followed by three others. They all looked vaguely familiar.

"She's fine," one of them noted, sliding his hand down her tattered khaki pants. The others snickered.

"Get moving," Kabuto spat. "You can do whatever you want with her once you're out of here."

Sasuke's eyes widened. Edena was in trouble. They were going to violate her. He had to do something – that's what Konoha ninja would do! She was right, too. He needed to get out of this mess, for Naruto's sake.

"Lord Orochimaru, Sasuke has regained control over his body. You need to get inside him right now!"

"No!" He screamed, but it was futile. Instantly, Sasuke found himself caught in a genjutsu world. Orochimaru was going to seal himself inside of Sasuke's body. There was no way he could perform a repeat of his last escape. Orochimaru would know his way around it. He'd have taken extra precautions. He needed to find a weakness.

"Lord Orochimaru, what should I do once you have transferred into his form?" Kabuto asked uncertainly.

A deep, rumbling laugh emitted from his throat. The laugh evolved into an all-out, hysterical guffaw in Orochimaru's shiver-inducing voice. "It seems have no need for you anymore," he leered.

"What!" Kabuto exclaimed. One of his eyes widened in terror. "So you're just going to let me die? We had a deal – "

"That's enough out of you," Orochimaru interrupted. He closed his eyes and started to scream. His face was calm, aside from his mouth. It was creepy to watch. While they sorted things out Sasuke tried to figure out a plan. Their strange exchange was too distracting, however. It looked as if Orochimaru was trying to take over Kabuto's body. If that was what he intended on doing, why was Sasuke there?

Edena's voice echoed in his mind. He needed to focus on breaking the genjutsu. That would be simple now, with his Mangekyou. He activated his sharingan, which alerted Orochimaru. He didn't react, however. His eyes were still calm, mouth screaming, Kabuto's voice rocking his eardrums.

Sasuke released the genjutsu. His surroundings resumed their customary form. Orochimaru went unbothered.

What the hell was going on?

-x-

**Again, very sorry for not updating and sorry for the poor content in this chapter. All will be explained next time (which will not take months)! Thanks for the motivating review from Brokenglass50, which I only JUST saw because I only JUST remembered I have a Fanfiction life.**


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